


The Shoreditch File

by SirJoker



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, whouffaldi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 45,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24676180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirJoker/pseuds/SirJoker
Summary: When Clara Oswald falls in love with a detective, the criminal organisation her father set up some thirty years ago starts to crumble.
Relationships: Twelfth Doctor & Clara Oswin Oswald, Twelfth Doctor/Clara Oswin Oswald
Comments: 195
Kudos: 80





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to this new fanfic! I've been working on this for quite a while now so I hope you enjoy the story! Cheers!

“Miss, why do we have to go to the hall?” a student whined to his teacher as groups of people began flooding the school hall. 

Clara Oswald wanted nothing more than to bang her head against the wall. This was the sixth time one of her students had asked her the same question. “There’s going to be a talk by someone from Met.”

“It’s going to be boring,” the student continued complaining. “It’s just going to be like last year.”

“Yeah, why do we have to go through this again?”

Truth to be told, she wondered the same thing. It had become an annual event where the school would invite a detective from Scotland Yard to talk about everything from drugs to criminal sentences. “It’s so that you don’t become a criminal,” she answered before ushering her students to take their seats. 

“But it’s the same thing over and over again.”

“Evan, please take your seat,” she said. “It will be over before you know it.”

“Yes, Miss Oswin,” Evan answered begrudgingly.

The teacher then chuckled before walking to the very back of the hall to join her colleagues.

“They’re sending someone new this year,” Anna commented. “I heard Mr Armitage talking on the phone – Smith or something.”

“I doubt that it’ll be any different compared to last year,” Clara replied, taking her seat. 

A few moments later, another colleague joined them. “Saw the new detective,” Mitch whispered. “He’s wearing a uniform, too.”

“Oh, did they send a chief or something?” Anna asked. 

Mitch shrugged. “Don’t know - doesn’t seem too happy to be here, but he’s quite the looker, though.”

Oh, great. The gossiping is about to start. Clara decided to tune out by making sure that all of her students were present because God forbid one of them… yep. Courtney Woods is missing. She stood up. “Not again,” she muttered.

“A certain student went missing again?” Anna questioned sympathetically. 

“Who else?” Clara sighed before she left the hall in search of her student. 

The hallways were unsurprisingly empty, and it didn’t take Clara long to take a guess where Courtney might be hiding. Her student might be a troublemaker, but she’s no idiot either. 

The men’s room. 

Clara stopped in front of the door to listen to any sort of sound coming from inside and when she heard the shuffling of feet, she knew her student was inside. 

Without a moment’s hesitation, she pushed the door and was greeted by the sight of a man. In a uniform. Washing his hands. 

They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Clara realised her mistake. “Sorry, I thought one of my students was hiding in here,” she said before rushing out.  
Just as a precautionary and to hopefully avoid the man, she entered the ladies’ restroom and did not discover Courtney.

“You look like you were ready to murder someone in there,” he commented the moment she strode out.

Clara wanted to do nothing more than to disappear out of thin air. Thank goodness he was just washing his hands. “You have no idea how rambunctious students can be when they feel like it,” she replied. “You must be the new guy.”

John Smith nodded. “Chief Inspector Clarkson has a...” he said. “Family emergency.”

“You don’t sound too pleased.”

It had nothing to do with the talk. He didn’t mind all that much. It was the bloody uniform he was asked to wear. Apparently, Kate wanted the kids to take the talk seriously and she thought that the best way to do that was to be in uniform. He hated it. “No, I just hate wearing this.”

Clara examined him from head to toe. “You don’t look that bad.”

“I prefer being in plainclothes.”

“The kids wouldn’t care, regardless.”

“That’s what I told my boss.”

They then smiled at each other. 

“Smith, John Smith.”

“Oswin,” Clara replied. “Clara Oswin.”

“So, the talk?”

She snapped out of her thoughts and nodded her head to the left. “The hall’s down that way.”

Together, they made their way to the hall where it was now completely full of students and staff. 

“Detective,” Mr Armitage greeted. “Finally found your way here, have you?”

He nodded. “Thanks to Clara.”

It was then she remembered that she still needed to find Courtney. “I have to go and find my missing student.”

“No need,” a voice from behind announced as Courtney Woods tailed behind him. “Found her hiding in one of the classrooms.”

“Thank you, Mr Pink,” the headmaster said. “Right, I think we can get started.”

Danny Pink and Clara exchanged looks before she mouthed ‘thank you’ to him and he nodded curtly. 

“Looks like Mr Pink has new competition,” Anna whispered to Mitch. They had expected Clara to return with Courtney Woods, but never would they guess that she would return looking slightly flustered while standing next to the new police officer. 

“Yeah, the looks on their faces,” Mitch added. “He must have flirted with her or something.”

“Nah, doesn’t seem the type to simply flirt around,” Anna said before silencing herself as Clara sat next to them. 

“What?” she asked, wondering why her colleagues were staring at her. 

Mitch nodded to the detective walking up the stage. 

She fought the urge to roll her eyes. “I bumped into him while looking for Courtney,” she explained, leaving out the details. 

“Yeah, and?”

She shrugged. “Nothing, he just asked me where the hall is.”

Mitch and Anna knew Clara was withholding information from them, but they decided not to push her as the talk was about to start. 

When Mr Armitage approached the podium, Clara looked over her shoulder and locked eyes with Danny. He then shifted his gaze elsewhere. 

“Good morning,” the headmaster began. “I’m sure that everyone by now is familiar with what’s going on today, so I won’t take much of your time, but I would like to thank Detective Chief Superintendent Smith for taking the time to give a talk on public safety and drug abuse.”

Clara couldn’t help but shift in her seat slightly to get a better look at the detective, drowning out the speech. The uniform really suits him. 

She wasn’t sure how long she had been staring, but when she noticed he was looking straight at her, she shifted her eyes back to the headmaster who was finally finishing his speech.

“And now, I would like to invite DCS Smith up to the stage,” Mr Armitage said before some barely audible claps were heard. 

From the moment John stood behind the podium to the very end of the speech, Clara wasn’t able to take her eyes off of him. What’s even more surprising is that he kept looking in her direction. 

By the time the talk was over, most of the students were more than eager to leave the hall. 

“See, Miss Oswin,” Clara’s student said as he shuffled past her. “It was another boring talk.”

If was indeed boring, then she didn’t notice it. She didn’t even listen to him talk, well, she did, but her mind was elsewhere, not that anyone needed to know that. 

The English teacher forced a smile. “Alright, alright, you’ve made your point, now back to the classroom.”

She decided to stay for a bit longer, watching the pupils leave the hall and halfway through, she turned around, feeling a pair of eyes staring at her. Surely enough, it was the DCS and he immediately looked away. It seems that he wasn’t listening much to whatever Mr Armitage is saying. 

“You did a splendid job, DCS,” the headmaster complimented as he only spotted a number of students sleeping compared to last year when half of them were. “I dare say they were engaged.”

“Yes, I suppose,” John answered, unsure of what to say and unable to shift his attention away from a particular teacher. “Would you excuse me for one moment?” he said before mustering the courage to walk up to Clara. 

He tried to look as confident as possible when she turned around and glanced straight at him. He had the scenario played out in his head perfectly. Just ask her if she would like to have coffee sometime, though he hopes it wouldn’t necessarily have to be coffee since he prefers something a bit sweeter. “Student.”

The teacher knitted her eyebrows. “What?”

“Your student,” he said quickly. “Did you manage to find her?” he asked even though both knew it was a stupid question. He was present when Mr Pink escorted Courtney into the hall. 

“Yeah, she was hiding in the classroom.”

“Someone’s about to go on a date,” Mitch commented quietly to Anna. “I can’t make out what he’s saying, though.”

“Someone’s about to get jealous,” she replied, pretending to watch the students leave. 

John nodded. “That’s good then, the part where she was found, not that she was hiding.”

Clara wasn’t able to help herself from smiling. She knew exactly what was coming and waited for him to say it, ignoring the cheeky looks from the small number of remaining students in the hall as they slowly trotted out.

Unsure of what else to say to steer the conversation, he decided to just go straight for the kill. “I know this café which serves the best hot chocolate in London and is actually good rather than claiming to be good.”

“I’d love that,” Clara replied, unaware that Danny was silently observing the exchange from a distance. 

John raised both eyebrows, surprised that she agreed. He was prepared for rejection. “So, when…”

“After school?” she suggested. “Around half-four?”

He grinned. “Fantastic.”

\-- 

“Did you really see what happened?” a student asked as she sat down in her seat.

“Yeah, I think Miss Oswin fancies the detective,” her friend answered. “They were giving each other heart eyes.”

“Hang on, I thought Miss Oswin is dating Mr Pink?” another girl who sat behind them said. 

“No, no, Mr Pink likes Miss Oswin.”

“Ooooh.”

“So she’s dating that old detective?”

It was then Courtney Woods joined in. “I heard them talking while she was looking for me,” the pupil said. “So, yeah.”

“I heard that some women like silver foxes.”

“Poor Mr Pink.”

Just when they thought that the gossiping was over, one of the girls, Violet, muttered, “I’m sure Miss Oswin is dating Mr Pink.”

Courtney leaned back against the chair. “Why?” she asked sarcastically. “Because they come to school together?”

“Like I said, it’s a one-sided thing on his end.”

The girls’ gossiping session was put to an end when their maths teacher strolled in. “Good afternoon,” he greeted, and the Year 10s began scrambling back to their seats. He had a feeling that they had been talking about him since almost each and every single one had that look. That typical mischievous look.

“I hope the talk didn’t bore you too much.”

If anything, the talk was surprising. The DCS might have forgotten that he was talking to a large of secondary school students and didn’t spare a single detail over how gruesome crime can be.

“We’re going to continue where we last left off – surds.”

The sighing and groaning always amused him. “Don’t fall asleep, yeah?” he said as he began writing on the whiteboard. Danny wondered if Clara was indeed going on a date with the detective. He knew he should have asked her out when he had the chance, but never had the guts to.

There’s only one way to find out and that’s when they take the tube together.

At around four in the afternoon, he returned to the staffroom and was surprised to see that Clara had already packed her things. She flashed him a kind smile. “Hey, just wanted to let you know that I won’t be taking the tube today.”

The former soldier nodded before forcing a smile. “Going on a date?” he guessed. 

The English teacher’s smile grew wider, but she shrugged. “See you tomorrow and please, don’t tell anyone about this,” she whispered pointedly. 

Without another word, she walked past him and headed straight for the exit. Clara made her way to the main gate and spotted John waiting by the corner and what surprised her was that he had ditched his uniform for a pair of black slacks, white shirt, black jacket and to shield him from the chilly air, a black coat with red lining. 

“For a second there, I didn’t recognise you,” she commented. “You look more like a magician than a detective now.”

“This is my favourite coat,” he replied. “I like this coat.”

Well, it certainly suited him as much as the uniform did.

“I like your messenger bag,” he commented, realising that he should have complimented her according to that dating book he read. 

Clara glanced at the worn-out bag she had been using for almost four years now. “Thanks,” she replied, beaming. “The café with the amazing hot chocolate, then?”

John grinned and nodded to his left. “It’s this way.”


	2. Chapter 2

**24 Hours Ago**

John Smith stared at his commander icily after she briefed him of his next task. "Are you mad?" he demanded.

"Last time I checked, no," Commander Kate Lethbridge-Stewart replied as she pulled her chair forward. "Look, Clarkson's son broke his leg and has been hospitalised and his wife is unable to get time off of work to look after the child, so he needs someone to cover for him."

"Do I look like children will listen to me?" he growled. "Especially teenagers."

"That's why you'll be wearing your uniform," she quipped sarcastically. "And that's final."

John pursed his lips. "You can't force me to do this."

"As your commander, I can," Kate pointed out before sighing. She would have asked someone else to give the talk, but John is the only person who has a free schedule tomorrow morning. "Please, I'm also asking as your friend."

He exhaled through his nose. "One hour and that's it," he grumbled. "I'll do what I have to and then leave."

"Deal."

\-- 

"Someone's finally back from so-called hell, yeah?" Donna Noble quipped as he strode past the bullpen and into his office.

"Yes, Donna, I am alive," John replied to the division secretary.

"How did it go?" a colleague asked, grinning as he swivelled in his chair.

He would have said quite well since a teacher had agreed to go on a date with him, but that was something they didn't need to know. "As well as you might expect," he muttered. "They're teenagers and they're not interested in listening to a police officer."

Donna squinted her eyes. "Hang on there, police boy," she said, and John paused just before he entered his office. "You're happy."

"Something interesting happened, John?"

He rolled his eyes. "None of your bloody business," he muttered before reaching for his bag and checking to see if he had the spare clothes he packed earlier in the morning.

Five months. He had been promoted to DCS and transferred to a new division just five months ago. How did they manage to figure him out? Maybe he's indeed rubbish at hiding things.

"Did you manage to impress one of the teachers with the uniform, boss-man?" Donna asked teasingly.

"I hate banter," he grumbled, earning laughter from his colleagues as he headed for the changing rooms.

Once John was out of earshot, everyone turned their attention to Donna. "So, Donna, you've known him since before he joined this division, what's he up to?"

It was quite obvious their superior was in a jovial mood when he returned to Scotland Yard. He wasn't grumpy or cranky and that was a good sign.

"Could be anything, really," the secretary replied. "The man is as unpredictable as the lottery."

"I'm willing to bet twenty quid that a teacher flirted with him," Detective Sergeant Aidan Bailey said.

"No," the woman sitting in the desk next to him joined in. "Far too cheery for it – maybe she asked him out on a date?"

The group murmured in agreement, seeing such a scenario as a possibility.

"I guess there's a silver lining for everything," Rena Patel commented. "I mean, he was practically moody all day long because he had to, and I quote, 'deal with insane teenagers who have no interest in hearing how dangerous drugs are'."

Donna shrugged. "Sometimes I think he's from outer space."

"How are you so sure that he's not?" Aidan pointed out.

"Aren't you people supposed to be working instead of gossiping like a bunch of school-girls?" John Smith growled. He was dressed in plainclothes, something that shouldn't have been an issue for the talk, to begin with.

"Oi, police boy, don't forget your manners, yeah?" Donna shot back. She was the only one in the division, or rather, the entire Scotland Yard daring enough to snap back at him.

If he dared to admit it, he enjoys arguing with her. Keeps him on his toes. John said nothing as he entered his office.

For the rest of the afternoon, the team resumed their work and had expected their superior to stay in late. To their surprise, just before four, he collected his belongings.

"This is new," Donna murmured. "You have a date or something?"

He thought that it was best to just come clean with them before they discover it themselves and tease him to no end. "Yes," he admitted quietly.

Aidan and Rena were shocked by his confession but were happy for him at the same time. DCS John Smith finally has a life outside of the police force. Looks like their constant bantering finally paid off.

\-- 

"They weren't dozing off, so I count that as a win," Clara said just before she took a sip of her hot chocolate.

John pursed his lips. "I wouldn't blame them if they did since the speech wasn't written by me."

She raised an eyebrow. "And what sort of words did you have in mind, Detective Chief Superintendent?"

He shrugged, a twinkle in his eyes as he hid the small smile playing on his lips with the paper cup. "Something along the lines of 'I hate speeches, so let me just get straight to the point: drugs are bad, drugs are harmful, drugs won't get you that new iPhone you've been begging your parents to get you'.'"

The schoolteacher chuckled. "That last bit was very specific."

"I was told to 'connect' with them, so there you go."

"Why not that new folding phone instead?"

He raised an eyebrow. "It doesn't sound as good."

She grinned. "So I guess that means you wouldn't connect with students who use something other than an iPhone then?"

John couldn't help but grin as well. "How long have you been teaching?" he asked, changing the subject. He remembered the self-help book he was reading mentioning that the conversation should be about his date too.

"I've been teaching since I left uni," Clara began. "Moved from one school to another before finally settling at Coal Hill three years ago."

"Oh," he answered, racking his brain over what to say next. "What made you stay?"

He really should have had cue cards ready or something, then again, she would probably find it strange if he whipped it out if he had any, to begin with.

She beamed and he felt relieved that he was doing better than expected. "There are a few reasons, but the first is pretty cliché."

"The location?" he guessed, arching a brow.

"Yeah, I know, everyone says that," she laughed.

"Always saw it as a dump," he commented without thinking and realised his mistake shortly after.

Clara looked at him.

"I mean, it's not quite literally a dump," John stammered, cursing his mouth for having a mind of its own. "But…"

"But it still has its charms?" she added with a hint of amusement.

He dropped his shoulders. "Sometimes," he admitted, a twinkle in his eyes.

The schoolteacher glanced down at the cup warming her hands. Since their meeting at school, she kept wondering what made her say yes. He's attractive, no doubt, but it would usually take a lot more than good looks to please her. Maybe it was his awkwardness. "Enough about me," she said. "What made you come all the way here from Scotland?"

"Work."

To his surprise, she chuckled.

"I think we've established that."

John knitted his eyebrows before it struck him what she meant. "Oh, um… I was transferred to Scotland Yard a few months ago."

"You make the achievement sound like a nuisance."

He shrugged. "It's hard not to when your boss is your childhood friend who thinks she gets a pass at torturing me."

"And look where it led you," she said pointedly.

John couldn't help but smile. He supposed he should thank Kate for this opportunity. "I guess you do have a point."

Once they finished their drinks, he offered to walk Clara to the tube station and she happily agreed. It seemed that the date was a success and he hoped she would say yes to another.

The closer they got to the tube, the more nervous he felt. What should he say now? Maybe he should have sought advice from Donna and brave through the eternal teasing rather than letting ego get the best of him.

"This is actually my stop," Clara said as she tore him out of his thoughts.

John hadn't realised that he had nearly walked past the tube station until she reminded him. "Oh, right, sorry," he apologised.

"Thank you for the hot chocolate."

He nodded, shifting his weight from one foot to the next. "Glad you liked it."

"I loved it."

"Is that a good indication about the date then?" John thought out loud.

The detective had expected her to turn around and walk away, never to speak to him again, but to his surprise, she granted him a smile. "Do you always think this loud?"

"Usually, no."

She giggled. "To answer your question, yes, it is."

His eyebrows went up.

"Ever heard of Mick's Fish and Chips?"

Of course, he had. He and his colleagues would dine there after cracking a difficult case. "Yes."

"Friday at 7?"

John Smith could only grin in response. This was going a lot better than the scenario in his mind.

\-- 

Clara Oswald was all smiles when she got on the tube, got off the tube after several stops and it seemed that nothing could spoil her mood that evening. They had even exchanged numbers before she left!

As she entered the compound of her flat, she spotted a familiar figure observing her from the balcony that was just a floor above hers.

When he was caught, he immediately returned inside.

Looks like she would need to have a quick chat with him.

By the time she had reached the second floor, Danny was waiting by the staircase, standing tall and avoiding her gaze. She really didn't understand why all this was necessary.

"You do realise it's just us and you can relax, right?"

The former soldier met her gaze and slumped his shoulders slightly.

She might as well get straight to the point. "I know that my father will be phoning you in a few days to ask about me," she began. "Do not mention this to him," she instructed. "I'll do it on my own."

He wanted to argue that Dave is not the type of her man who appreciated details being spared. He wanted to know everything. However, he knew he couldn't say no to Clara. Not to those eyes. Danny could only nod in agreement.

"Thank you, Danny," Clara said sincerely.

"Clara," he replied, nodding his head before walking up the flight of stairs.

As soon as he was out of her sight, she turned around and approached the door to her flat. Her father would surely be unhappy when he learns that his daughter has a date with a detective, which brings her to Dylan Clarkson.

Her smartphone rang and the man's name flashed on the screen. Speak of the devil. "Dylan."

"Clara, you're not busy right, now are you?" he inquired.

"No, just got home," she answered, tossing the keys into the bowl next to her. "Is Charlie ok?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "Nearly had a heart attack when the school phoned me."

"Dad, you're over-reacting!" a voice was heard in the background.

The schoolteacher chuckled. "Let me talk to him."

She heard the phone being passed over. "Hi, Aunty Clara."

For the next ten minutes, the two chatted everything from video games to when she would visit him at the hospital.

"So how did the talk go?" Dylan questioned. "It can't be as boring as when I was there."

She merely smiled but decided to leave out certain details. "It was fine."

There was a pause. "That's it?"

"Were you expecting the superintendent to bring actual drugs?"

"What?" he said. "They sent my boss?"

She wondered how he would react if he ever found out that she went on a date with John. Hell, there was one coming up this weekend. "John Smith."

"Didn't think he'd bond well with teenagers."

"There's a reason why teenagers are teenagers," Clara replied, pouring herself a cup of tea. "A lot of them were half-asleep and besides, he wasn't that bad."

"Ok, then," Dylan said. "I won't take much of your time now since Charlie wants to play FIFA."

"Wait, before you go," she added. "When was the last time dad contacted you?"

The detective was silent for a second. "A week ago," he answered. "He's in Spain right now… why do you ask?"

"Just curious since I haven't heard from him for almost a week now."

"Knowing what your father is like, I'd say he'll contact you soon."

Once she hung up after saying goodbye to Dylan and Charlie, she tossed her phone aside and leaned against the cushions.

For the first time in a while, she's genuinely excited about going on a date, despite the situation and their backgrounds.


	3. Chapter 3

"I think it's getting a bit creepy now," Rena whispered to Aidan as they watched their superior walk into the office with a smile on his face.

He took a sip of his fresh coffee. "Never seen him like that before."

"No one has," Donna commented as she joined the two. "Too bad Dylan isn't here."

Aidan chuckled. "He'd start a betting pool."

"Anything you can tell us, Donna?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Look, I worked with him for two years when he was in the counter-terrorism division, so I can only tell so much, and shouldn't this be your job – Sherlocking people?"

Rena shot her a confused look. "Sherlocking people?"

"I may not be able to hear what you're talking about, but I can tell you're talking about me," John commented loudly as he read a file.

"Well, whose fault is it for being so secretive all the time?" Donna retorted before returning to her desk.

He looked up and shot her an icy look before returning to the report.

At that moment, their phones beeped simultaneously which could only mean one thing: they had a new case.

"Saved by the bell," Donna whispered to her colleagues as they stood up and began collecting their belongings.

\-- 

"Miss Oswin," Courtney Woods said as she raised her hand.

Clara couldn't quite believe her eyes and ears when she realised that the very student who didn't show any interest and respect in her class was speaking to her politely. "Yes, Courtney?"

"You and the detective dating or something?"

The entire classroom erupted into laughter.

She should have seen it coming.

The teacher put on a stern look, well, as much as she could and rested her hands on her hips. "That question is irrelevant to the topic we're discussing."

"Technically speaking, it is sort of relevant since we're discussing the relationship between Mr Rochester and Jane."

Her students filled the room with laughter once more.

"Miss Woods, another comment from you not related to the literature and I'm sending you to the headteacher's office."

Courtney merely shrugged and leaned back against her seat.

The English teacher, on the other hand, knew that her date with John was no longer a secret. It wasn't a secret, to begin with, but the moment the students saw him waiting for her, they knew which meant that her colleagues would have gossip material now. Hell, they were smiling at her non-stop when she dropped off her things at the teacher's room in the morning.

Brilliant.

"So, how did it go?" an excited voice asked the moment she sat down behind her desk an hour later.

"How did what go?" Clara answered nonchalantly as she pulled the stack of unmarked tests towards her.

Anna set down her drink. "The detective has been the talk of the town since he walked through the hallway yesterday," she murmured. "And not to mention you."

"What did you hear?" Clara inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"You entered the men's room while he was relieving himself."

"That's not what happened!" the teacher shrieked before she noticed everyone was staring at her. There could only be one person who could have spread such a rumour.

"I heard it from my students," Anna said. "But don't worry, you know how they tend to exaggerate when gossiping."

"Exaggeration is an understatement."

"So is he as handsome as he is up close?"

"Since when are you into older men?"

Anna shrugged. "There's always an exception for every rule and you'd have to be blind to think he's not good looking."

Clara couldn't help but smile.

"I take it that the date went better than expected then?"

"I'm not saying anything."

Anna chuckled. "Fair enough," she said before returning to her work.

Just when Clara thought she would be left undisturbed, her phone began ringing and she immediately reached for it, putting the phone on silent before taking a proper look at the caller's name. Her father.

She didn't want to take his call at work, not when surrounded by colleagues. She could always text him back when she gets home.

\-- 

"Dylan?" Aidan said in surprise as he saw the chief inspector duck under the tape. "Thought you were supposed to be at the hospital?"

The man shrugged. "I knew I had to come here as soon as I got the text," he replied. "Besides, I only told Charlie I'll be gone for two hours tops."

Rena then joined them. "Hardly a surprise you showed up."

"Always happy to perform my duty," he answered. "The body still inside?"

"Yeah, and John's checking the first floor."

Dylan nodded curtly before entering the house. It seems that his boss is more of a hands-on detective than one who prefers to sit in the comfort of his office.

He spotted the dead body being examined by a coroner but decided to look for John first. He found the DCS in one of the two bedrooms, checking the victim's mobile phone.

"There's only one number in there," John explained as he tossed the burner phone to Dylan. "In and out from that same number."

"This can't be the only one?"

"Smartphone's with Rena," he explained, examining the untidy bedroom. "And aren't you supposed not to be here?"

Dylan shrugged. "Charlie was getting sick of me sitting next to him all day long and beating him at FIFA."

The DCS finally shifted his attention to the chief inspector. "A message."

"What?"

"Nothing is stolen."

Dylan knew exactly what was going on, but he couldn't give any sort of sign he had a clue of whatever his boss was getting to. "Maybe the guy got spooked?"

John strode forward, a puzzled look washed over his face. "How the hell are you a chief inspector if you don't see what's obvious?"

"To be fair, boss, I just got here, and I haven't even looked at the body yet."

The DCS sighed. "Room is messy, yes, but the killer didn't take anything – not the laptop or that game station thing," he pointed at the PlayStation on the desk. "Or his smartphone, which I believe is worth quite a lot."

Dylan decided to continue playing dumb. "Ok, so you're right," he said. "I'm just going to check on our friend, then."

"Overdosed on cocaine," John explained as he led the way downstairs.

"Jesus," Dylan muttered as the cover was removed from the body.

The corpse was the colour of ash, with his eyes wide open and bloodshot red and a permanent look of terror etched on his face.

"He died a slow death," the coroner commented as she stood up. "It was torture for him."

"That's one hell of torture," Dylan said quietly as he looked away and spotted the shattered window.

"If there's nothing left for you to look at, I'd like to take the body to the morgue."

John nodded. "Thanks, Martha."

"They were clearly struggling before he was overpowered," Dylan said as he looked out the window carefully. "Though I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you have a different theory?"

The DCS then began explaining that the gunshot came from the opposite end of the room, not in the direction of where the victim was sitting on the sofa. "Those two pudding brain constables insisted that they think it was a deal gone wrong," he grumbled.

"You really can't tolerate people can you, John?"

"Most people," the superior corrected. "I do make a few exceptions."

Dylan chuckled before changing the subject. "I'll go and find the bullet."

"No need since I sent Rena and Aidan to do that."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

John tossed him the bagged mobile phone. "Go to cyber and see if they can get anything useful from that."

\-- 

Clara couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed. The man walking next to her clearly had a question for her but was too afraid to ask. He had been doing that since they got on the tube.

"Is there something on your mind, Danny?"

He jumped upon hearing her speak, startled that she could tell she was on his mind. "Your dad phoned me last night – just his usual questions and I didn't say anything that you wouldn't approve of."

"That's it?"

The former soldier hesitated for a moment as they walked up the stairs to their respective flats. "He asked if you had anything planned Friday night and I, well, I just said you haven't said anything to me."

Her date with John. There's a chance her father is back in London and wants to have dinner with her to catch up. Maybe that was the reason why he called her earlier.

"Don't worry, he's no longer your problem," she assured him, feeling sorry over how terrified he was over her father. Then again, he had threatened him should anything happen to her which she saw as an overreaction on her father's part.

Danny merely nodded in silence as left her to go up to his flat.

She didn't call her father until later in the evening.

"Clara!"

That wasn't a usual response from him. He wouldn't sound this cheerful unless he had good news for her. "You sound cheerful," she stated unable to help herself from beaming. Nothing but good news for sure.

"I am and it's because I proposed to Linda," Dave explained. "She said yes!"

The smile immediately vanished. "Oh… that's great," she managed, despite wanting to scream. Linda was anything but nice. "I'm happy for you, dad."

"Thank you, Clara," he said sincerely. "It means a lot to me… and as a celebration, why don't we all have dinner on Friday night?"

She nearly fell off the chair. "I'm not free on Friday," she revealed. "What about Saturday?"

The schoolteacher couldn't believe what she was getting herself into. She had no intention of meeting that vile woman.

Dave considered her suggestion. "Saturday it is then," he answered. "Do you have anything special planned the day before that?"

Here comes her paranoid father. Well, she couldn't quite blame him for being protective of her. She was his only child and the only connection left to her mother. Not to mention the fact that he was the head of organised crime. "I would appreciate it if you could respect my private life."

"It was only a question, Clara," he sighed. "I'm sorry if it upset you."

Clara massaged her forehead. "No, it's fine," she said. "Sorry for being so defensive."

There was an awkward silence that settled in. "I guess I'll see you this weekend."

"Yep," she answered.

She could tell that her father wanted to say something and decided to not hang up just yet. "I love you, Clara, you know that, right?"

"Yes, of course, I do."

Dave sighed once more. "Well, good night."

"Good night, dad," Clara murmured before finally hanging up.

One thing she was sure of is that the relationship with her father is still the same. Strained and full of things that needed to be said.

At least she can look forward to the date.


	4. Chapter 4

John Smith checked the time on his phone for the fifth time that evening. He stood outside the restaurant, dressed in a simple black jacket, a white shirt and a pair of black trousers. One can't go wrong with simplicity.

It was five minutes till seven and Clara hasn't shown up yet.

"You sure she didn't jilt you or something?" a waiter, around the age of seventeen, commented as he stepped outside.

John shot an icy look at the boy who merely laughed. "Your comments are not needed, Tyler."

The boy shrugged. "Whatever you say, detective and just so you know, there's a tub of ice-cream reserved for you in case she doesn't show up."

That was exactly when John spotted Clara walking up to him.

"Just go and get our table ready or something," he whispered. "And pretend you don't know me."

Tyler had his mouth agape when he spotted the schoolteacher before looking at the detective. "How did you manage to ask her out?"

This time, it was John's turn to be smug. "I have my secrets," he said before Tyler scurried back into the restaurant.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," she said the moment she reached him.

He shrugged. "You got here just in time."

She would have arrived sooner had it not been for Danny insisting on following her at a safe distance to make sure that she was unharmed. It was clear her father had something to do with it. In the end, she won the argument since her bodyguard was more loyal to her than her father. "I'm sorry if you had to wait long."

"Four and a half billion years wasn't that long," he said sarcastically, receiving a giggle from her. He then cleared his throat. "So, dinner?" he murmured as he offered his arm.

Clara happily wrapped her arm around his and beamed.

Dinner had gone exceptionally well. They had both discovered that the other is a fan of David Bowie and share a love of travelling.

"I have this book I keep with me, it was my mother's, 101 Places to See," she explained with a hint of sadness in her eyes. "I had this grand plan to travel after graduating from uni, but sometimes the universe decides to steer you in a different direction, and I became a nanny."

"Where did you plan to travel?" he asked quietly, mesmerised by her beauty.

Clara flashed a grin. "I had always thought it would start with Paris."

John raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

She merely laughed, cheeks reddening.

"It can't be that embarrassing."

"It's the city of love."

The detective paused for a moment. "If you think about it, any city could be a city of love, it's just a matter of perception."

She set her glass of wine down. "I know, it's the reason why I changed it to York," she replied. "My mother's hometown."

John smoothed the back of his curly hair, using it as a distraction as he wasn't sure what to say.

"But enough about me," the schoolteacher said. "What's your favourite place to visit?"

"Glasgow," he answered. "I used to live there until my mid-twenties, and I visit whenever I could."

Their conversation was momentarily interrupted when Tyler came to their table with a slice of cake. "It's on the house," he said with a smile before leaving.

"Well, this is quite the pleasant surprise," Clara commented. The cake was chocolate and it looked delectable.

The detective then looked over his shoulder and spotted the owner of the restaurant grinning and giving him a thumbs up.

"Judging by the looks you're getting, you're a regular here?"

He focused his attention back to Clara. So much for trying to be discreet. "Every now and then, with my team."

She cut through a small piece with the fork and tasted it. "Cake?"

"Oh, right," he murmured, grabbing the other fork. "I hope it's good."

"Good would be an understatement," Clara commented, taking another piece.

John couldn't help but smile. He made the right choice and was almost certain that their next date is secured.

Once dinner was over, he offered to walk her home and she was more than happy he did.

Clara chose to take a longer route so that they could pass the park and savour as much time together with him.

Their journey to her flat had mostly been silent, with the occasional small talk here and there and without a doubt, a lot of shy glances.

After some time, they finally reached their destination. The couple stood in front of the entrance to the building.

John hid his hands in the pockets of his trousers, feeling awkward and nervous. Is this the part where he kisses her or is that still too early? This is what happens when he's out of the game for far too long.

"Dinner was lovely," Clara said, all smiles. "Can't wait to be surprised next time."

His eyes immediately lit up. "Next time, as in…"

"Our next date," she confirmed. "What else, silly?"

John chuckled. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Good night, John," Clara said, not moving an inch.

He scratched the back of his head. "Good night, Clara," he whispered, leaning in and eyeing her lips.

In the final moment, he lost all his confidence and his lips landed on her cheek instead, surprising her. It was awkward, to say the least.

"I'll see you Friday next week, then?"

"Friday sounds fantastic."

She flashed him a smile and he returned the gesture before she entered the building.

The moment Clara was out of sight, John groaned. "You're an idiot, Detective Idiot," he mumbled to himself. He should have kissed her properly but instead acted like a coward. He vowed to make things right on their next date.

At least everything else went smoothly and according to plan. He made a mental note to send Tyler and his family a gift basket or something for helping him tonight.

\-- 

"Good morning, Miss Oswald," a short plump man said as soon as the door swung open. "May I take your coat?"

Clara beamed. "Morning, Strax," she replied and handed him her coat. "Is Aunt Vastra home?"

"She's upstairs on a phone call with a client, shouldn't be too long," a voice replied as she descended down the staircase.

"Hi Jenny," the schoolteacher greeted as she hugged her aunt's wife.

"Is Mr Pink joining us, Miss Oswin?"

"No, he'll just wait in the car."

"Very well then," Strax answered before shutting the door.

Jenny couldn't help but notice that Clara seemed to have a spring in her step. "Tea?" she offered as they headed for the living room.

"No, it's fine since I won't be staying here for long."

"In which case you should since you're always in a rush to go somewhere," Vastra stated as she strode into the room and hugged her niece.

"I suppose a cuppa wouldn't hurt."

"That's more like it."

Once they were all settled in and Clara felt that she was at ease, she finally set aside the small talk.

"Dad phoned me a few days ago," she revealed. "He proposed to Linda."

It made sense why Clara didn't sound all that enthusiastic. Her future stepmother was anything but nice. Well, according to her that is. Vastra hadn't seen her brother-in-law in her years, but she wasn't all that surprised he found someone after fifteen years of being a widow.

"But that's not even the worst part," the schoolteacher continued. "We're having dinner tonight."

Vastra set the cup she held aside. "I know you don't like Linda at all, but don't think about her, think about your father – I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

Clara pursed her lips. When was the last time they had dinner together without Linda tagging along and making snide comments over how she was still unmarried.

"Enough about them," Vastra said, changing the subject. "How have you been?"

Clara merely smiled in response. "Fine, and I went on a date last night."

The older woman raised an eyebrow.

"It was our second date," her niece added quickly. "Nothing serious, but it was pleasant – he's a bit awkward and he's from Glasgow."

"Second date and you're gushing about him."

Clara chuckled, leaning back against the cushions. "The first meeting was a bit strange though."

"Why is that?"

"We met in the men's room."

If she recalled correctly, her niece had mentioned something about having no interest in dating any of her colleagues. That was quite some time ago and might have changed her mind.

"It's not anyone from school."

Vastra took another sip of her drink. "Right, what prompted you to enter the men's room then?"

Clara began recounting the incident to her aunt who listened intently from start to finish.

One thing's for sure is that the Ravenwood girls sure have an unusual way of meeting their significant other.

"Hmm, sounds like your average chief inspector."

"He's actually a detective chief superintendent."

Vastra had a feeling she knew who Clara was seeing since she used to work for MI5 and closely with the counter-terrorism unit from the MET. She wasn't sure if it was a good or bad sign.

They chatted for another fifteen minutes before the schoolteacher decided that it was time for her to leave. God knows she needs time to both physically and mentally prepare for dinner with her father tonight.

\-- 

"I thought that at that moment, I wanted nothing more than to marry her," Dave murmured as he told his daughter how he had proposed to his fiancée. "It was all spontaneous, which is funny because I had planned to propose during dinner, later in the evening."

Linda shared a laugh with her future husband as he wrapped an arm around her.

Clara could only force herself to look happy. She wanted nothing more than to drown in her sorrows that her father would marry someone as horrible as the woman sitting in front of her. "That's sweet," she commented, raising the glass of wine to her lips.

"What about you, dear?" Linda said with a devious look in her eyes. "Surely someone must have swept you off your feet – your biological clock is ticking."

Dave cleared his throat. "Linda, let Clara take her time."

She should stick to her plan of not revealing John just yet since they had only started dating and not to mention that he's a detective, which would surely irk her father, but the dirty looks Linda was throwing at her was too much. "Actually, I'm seeing someone."

Dave raised both eyebrows. It made sense why she wasn't free the previous night. "Any chance I'll get to meet him soon?"

Clara gave her father an innocent smile, not wanting to answer his question. "We're taking things slow."

"Life's too short to be 'taking things slow'," Linda stated. "Just look at me and your father."

The schoolteacher clenched her fist. She didn't need any sort of input from the woman.

"Well, regardless of whether you take things slow with him or not, I hope he makes you happy," her father said, beaming. "But can you at least give me some details?"

"We met under unusual circumstances," Clara revealed. "That's all I'm telling you."

Her father grinned. "A girl after her mother."

His own encounter with Ellen was a rather strange one. They met all thanks to a leaf! He couldn't fault his daughter if she had more or less the same experience.

There is no doubt in Dave's mind that whoever this man is, he'd be the one to marry Clara.


	5. Chapter 5

Dylan lit up his cigar as he looked around the club. It was around midnight and that meant people were crowding the room, which he didn't mind as much since they were too busy drinking and smoking to bother recognising anyone.

"What happened to Vincent was tragic," Dave commented, tearing the man out of his thoughts.

Dylan said nothing as he produced something from the pocket of his jacket. It was his smartphone. "Whoever killed him left a message," he stated, scrolling through the photo gallery before finding the picture he was looking for. "They found this note in his hand."

Dave took the phone from him and examined the photo carefully.

_'QUIT WHILE YOU STILL CAN'_

There is no doubt in his mind that news and rumours have started leaking about him planning to withdraw his organization out of the drug business. "Any idea who this might be from?"

"Could be from anybody," the DCI said. "If your bezzie mates wanted to get rid of you, they would have done that a long time ago, so that tells me it's someone new to the game who thinks they can do whatever they like."

The older man downed his whiskey. "Be on your guard at all times."

"Yes, boss."

"How's Mia and Charlie?"

Dylan leaned against his seat, finally taking a swig of his drink. "Fine, the wife's been busy with an upcoming fashion show and Charlie, well, he broke his leg at school."

Concern flashed through Dave's eyes. "Is he alright?"

"Fine, fine, nothing serious thankfully."

The man nodded in response and the detective knew that there was still something on his mind. "Have you been in contact with Clara recently?"

He was taken by surprise by the question. "Well, she did phone Charlie while he was at the hospital."

"Did she ever mention about dating someone?"

Dylan chuckled. One thing he learned about Dave after knowing him for twenty-five years is that he's a very protective man when it comes to his daughter. "I think that's a question for Pink."

"I'm sure you're well aware that he's more loyal to Clara than he is to me, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but for the record, I did ask him."

The detective smirked. Poor Danny Pink has been in love with Clara since the moment he met her. "What did he say?"

"He doesn't know the man and that Clara has been very discreet about him, something along those lines," Dave explained. "Which reminds me, Linda accepted my proposal."

Dylan forced a smile. "That's brilliant news," he replied calmly. "Congratulations."

Dave laughed. "No need to act, Dylan – I know you always side with Clara."

Dylan had always seen his boss as a father-figure and Clara as his surrogate sister, so it was only natural for him to side with her. Besides, he had met Linda on a number of occasions and he doesn't have any favourable views of the woman. "Alright, I admit, I'm biased."

The older man took a puff of his cigar. "I don't blame her," he sighed. Since the death of his wife, the relationship between him and his daughter was strained to say the least.

For fear of her safety, he had sent her to live with her aunt and while he regretted not showering with proper attention as a parent should, he justified that he did what was necessary to protect her from his world.

\-- 

_'Coleman's, Friday, at six?'_

John wasn't able to stop himself from smiling as he read the message he was about to send to Clara.

_'Sounds great!'_

_'Want me to pick you up?'_

Shortly after sending the reply, the laptop in front of him chimed and he looked up from his smartphone. The report from cybersecurity was complete.

Setting the mobile device aside, he opened the email and skimmed through the document.

Apparently, their dead man was receiving calls from somewhere within Holloway.

The detective's phone then buzzed.

_'If you want to'_

His lips curved upwards.

"What are you smiling about, detective boy?" Donna demanded as she stuck her head into the office.

John quickly his smartphone in the pocket of his jacket. "I was just reading something online, Donna."

"How daft do you think I am?"

"I never said that."

"I never said you did, did I?"

He thought it was best to change the subject before she successfully gets information out of him. "I've just read the report from cybersecurity," he announced, loud enough for the rest of his team to hear.

"I volunteer to look through the files for anyone dealing in Holloway," Rena said.

"Adrian, you can go with her," the DCS instructed. "Dylan, you and I will be paying a visit to Vincent Mayhew's sister."

Dylan merely nodded in response as he grabbed his coat.

It was about a thirty-minute drive before they reached their destination and it was clearly a part of the city where the people there had a certain opinion about the police.

John double-checked the address on his phone before glancing at the terraced house.

"Not a very welcoming place, is it?"

The DCS said nothing as he stepped out of the vehicle and headed straight for the door with Dylan following behind him.

Just as he was about to knock, the door swung open and they were greeted by a woman who was carrying a wailing toddler in her arms. "What do you want?" she demanded. "I gave my statement days ago."

"Miss Mayhew, we'd just like to talk to you," John stated showing his identification card. "I'm DCS Smith and this is my colleague, DCI Clarkson."

"Yeah, well, I'm a little busy here, aren't I?" she snapped, trying in vain to make her daughter stop crying.

Dylan was starting to lose his patience. "It'll be quick," he said curtly.

"She's probably hungry," John commented.

Without much of a choice, Miss Mayhew sighed and stepped aside to let the detectives in.

The two men followed her down the hallway and saw the woman passing the toddler to a girl of no more than ten years old. "Feed your sister," she grunted, and the girl rushed past them to the kitchen.

They entered the living room with clothes and toys strewn everywhere on the floor. "What?" she demanded, crossing her arms. "What more do you want from me?"

"Miss Mayhew, when was the last time you saw your brother?"

"About a week ago," she answered. "We rarely see each other since he's so busy, or so he claims."

While the DCI was questioning the victim's brother, John decided to have a look around the room. No point questioning her since she knows nothing useful.

He then caught sight of the little girl from earlier spying on them from the hallway. "Hi," he murmured, flashing a kind smile. "I'm John, what's your name?"

The child hesitated at first. "Um… Sam."

"Sam, that's a nice name."

Finally, the girl smiled. "Thank you, John."

"Sam, take your sister upstairs," her mother instructed, frightening the child.

John looked over his shoulder. "It's fine, we're just having a chat," he said before focusing his attention back to Sam.

"What happened to Uncle Vince?"

He paused for a second to choose his words carefully. "Your uncle is, well, will be away for a while."

"Mummy said the same thing, she said he won't visit us anymore."

"I'm sorry, Sam."

"Is it because of Davros?"

The detective knitted his eyebrows. "How did you know that name?"

"Sam, upstairs. Now."

"Miss Mayhew," Dylan said, extending an arm to prevent her from moving. "I believe you have some explaining to do."

"Uncle Vince said Davros kept bothering him."

John patted the girl. "Thank you, Sam, you've been very helpful," he murmured, smiling as he watched the girl beam and then run back into the kitchen.

"So, Davros?" Dylan began, eyeing Miss Mayhew who sighed in defeat before sitting in an empty chair.

"I swear to you that's all I know," she explained. "Vince said he kept receiving calls from someone who works for Davros… wanted him to work for him instead."

"Who was he working for before this?" John asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know, he never tells me anything until this man started bothering him."

"Did he say anything else?"

Miss Mayhew shook her head again, fighting back the tears. "Just said he wanted to lay low for a while."

John and Dylan exchanged looks. Things were slowly progressing.

\-- 

"You ok?"

The voice tore him out of his thoughts and he immediately made eye contact with the woman sitting in front of him. "Sorry, won't happen again," he said, flashing her a shy smile.

"You sure?" Clara inquired.

"Yeah, it's just work," he confessed, realising that he must have made the impression he was bored. "Not that I'm not enjoying the moment, but sorry, it just keeps floating in my head."

The schoolteacher relaxed a bit. "Do you want to talk about it?"

John shook his head. "No, no, we're meant to be spending time together, not talk about… well, police work."

He racked his brain to think of something. A topic that will change the subject. "The food is nice."

Clara chuckled. "Glad to know you like it."

The moment dinner was over, he couldn't stop thinking about what he needed to do the moment they arrive at her flat. It's just a kiss so there was no need to be nervous.

After driving for some time, they finally reached their destination and miraculously enough, there was an empty spot close to the flat for him to park the car.

John cleared his throat and killed the engine. "We're here," he announced, realising that Clara was staring at him. "What?"

"You look like a nervous wreck," she teased.

He ran a hand through his hair. "it's the hair," he lied miserably. "It starts getting a… mind of its own if I let it grow."

She raised an eyebrow. "I like your hair like that," she complimented. "Not too long and not to short – just the right amount of floof."

"Floof?!"

The schoolteacher laughed stepping out of the car and he mimicked her move before going over to the other side.

"Thank you for a lovely night."

"Thank you for exactly the same."

That was definitely his cue and so he leaned forward, hoping he read it right and when she moved towards him, he shut his eyes and gave her a kiss on the lips.

"You know, for a second there, I thought you were going to kiss me on the cheek again," she joked once they had parted, feeling her lips tingle.

"I'm not that big of an idiot," he replied, grinning before reluctantly stepping aside to let her through.

Clara walked to the lobby of the building with a smile on her face and just as she was about to enter, she turned around. "I'll text you, yeah?"

He nodded and just as he was about to enter his car, she turned around once more.

"Good night, John."

"Good night, Clara."

The smile on her face grew bigger. She absolutely loves the way her name rolls on his tongue.


	6. Chapter 6

Rena and Aidan waited patiently for their boss to arrive. It had been a couple of days since their briefing and they were eager to present their latest findings and not to mention find out more about his date/girlfriend.

"You really think John finally has a girlfriend?" Aidan asked, reclining against the chair.

Rena took a sip of her warm coffee, thinking about her colleague's question carefully. "I don't see why he'd lie about the date."

"Yeah, you make a good point, but he's just been smiling to himself a lot lately," he said. "I'm not sure if it's scarier than his usual look."

Dylan has been doing his work whilst listening to his two colleagues silently. He still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling floating around his head.

All they knew was that John is supposedly dating one of the teachers from the school he visited. It was unlikely someone he just bumped into. That makes sense.

What he couldn't shake off, however, is the feeling that the schoolteacher his boss is dating might be Clara. He didn't any sort of issue with that. It was her choice, but she should know better. What happens then if Dave finds out about this?

"Oi, chief inspector, you still with us?" Aidan asked, waving a hand in front of him.

Dylan swatted the man's hand away. "Oi, some people have something better to do other than gossiping."

His colleagues laughed in response. "Did someone replace the bet king with a robot or something?"

"Good morning, lovelies," Donna greeted as she strode in. "Why are you lot gathered around like that?"

Aidan patted Dylan on the shoulder. "DCI Clarkson here has been replaced by a cyberman."

The detective rolled his eyes. "What does that even mean," he muttered, adjusting his chair.

"It means you're a cyborg."

"You and your comic-con obsession."

The entire office erupted with laughter.

"Not to be that person," Rena pointed out. "But comic-con is a convention."

Aidan bowed. "Thank you," he said. "At least someone here is cultured."

Just as Dylan was about to give a comment, he spotted John and Commander Lethbridge-Stewart heading their way.

Almost immediately, everyone returned to their respective desks.

"Please remember to keep me updated and not forget that I have a say in this," Kate commented once they reached the office.

John shrugged. "No promises, Kate."

The commander merely shot him a look as he walked away with a huge grin on his face.

"Everything ok, boss-man?" Aidan questioned.

"Yeah, yeah, just Kate being Kate."

He then exchanged looks with Rena. "If it helps, we have something."

John stopped in his tracks as he adjusted the messenger bag strap hanging off his shoulder. "Ten minutes," he said, holding up his cup of hot chocolate.

Donna decided to take the opportunity to interrogate him. "Reports for police boy," she announced, setting the files on the desk.

John eyed her cautiously. "I'm not telling you anything."

Donna shut the door to his office.

"No."

"Well, excuse me for trying to be friendly and caring," she retorted. "Did you at least make sure your date enjoyed the date?"

He pursed his lips. "Of course, I did, she wouldn't have said she'd text me, would she?"

It was then he realised his mistake. "Well played."

"Thank you," Donna replied. "It's all those years spending time listening to one detective talk to another."

The DCS played with the cup. "The fourth date is coming up."

"Oh, wow, look at you," Donna exclaimed. "No longer the grumpy and single detective chief superintendent!"

"Keep it down, will you?"

Donna merely rolled her eyes. "As if they have no idea what's going on."

"I know they know," he grumbled. "But please try not to make such a big deal about it."

She snorted. "How can we not when you're all smiles and skipping."

John frowned. "That last point is a lie."

"What next police boy, you going to sing like in the Disney films?"

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Funny."

Donna got to her feet. "We're all happy for you, you know."

"Thank you, Donna," he murmured.

About ten or so minutes later, the team was gathered in the briefing room.

"We found several people who deal in Holloway, but two are in prison and the other has been clean since 2018," Aidan explained. "Besides, he was in Brighton on the day of the murder – story checks out."

"So it was a dead end there," Rena added. "However, we found CCTV footage of Mr Mayhew in Holloway."

She then grabbed the remote sitting on the desk and switched on the large monitor before a video clip started playing.

The video showed Vincent Mayhew talking to someone in a grey hoodie in an alleyway for a few seconds before he was seen shaking his head and walking away.

"Have you identified the suspect?" John inquired.

"We're running facial recognition now, but it's going to take a bit of time," Aidan explained.

"Did you track the grey hoodie?" Dylan questioned.

Rena had a sombre look on her face. "We only managed to track him up until Caledonian Road," she said. "Lost track of him when he got to the tube station."

"Keep me updated," the DCS informed as left the room.

\-- 

Clara Oswald couldn't have felt more relieved to be home after a long day at school. Today had been particularly challenging with Courtney Woods up to her usual antics and several students not submitting their essay for the coursework due. It was a massive headache and she was glad to finally get away from all of it.

The last thing she had expected, however, was the doorbell ringing.

The only person could think of showing up at her doorstep right now is Danny, which didn't make sense since he would have texted her first.

As she pushed down the handle and pulled the door, she was greeted by Dylan. "What are you doing here?"

He pressed his lips together. "I do believe we need to talk."

She locked eyes with him for a moment and had a feeling that her relationship with John was about to be exposed. Without another word, she stepped aside and let him through.

"Look, I'm sorry I showed up unexpectedly, but I just had to ask you in person."

Clara crossed her hands defensively. "Is this about my date?"

"It depends on who it is."

After a few moments, she shut her eyes and dropped her hands. "What about him?"

Dylan tucked the collar of his shirt. "Look, I honestly don't care who you're dating, police or not," he began. "But… I can't help but notice since the whole team has been talking."

Clara furrowed her brows in confusion.

"They keep saying that my boss is dating a schoolteacher – he's been vague about the whole thing, too."

"We're seeing each other," she admitted, relaxing a bit knowing that Dylan at least understood her.

"John Smith?" he asked, just to be sure.

"Yes."

Dylan exhaled through his nose. "Does Dave know about this?"

"Not in detail since I only told him by accident, thanks to Linda, that I'm seeing someone."

"Right, ok," the chief inspector sighed as he loosened the tie. "There's just going to be one problem."

She blinked once and then it hit her. "Charlie's birthday."

How could she have forgotten about that?

"Yes, they sent Charlie gifts and cards while Charlie was at the hospital, so I had to invite them."

The issue was that Dylan has invited his team to the birthday party, including John. What's an even bigger issue is that Clara wasn't supposed to have any sort of connection to him.

"I have an idea," she murmured.

He raised his eyebrows. "Well, let's hear it."

"I can just say that we used to be neighbours," Clara suggested. "I know it doesn't sound all that convincing, but I think it will at least explain why Charlie calls me Auntie Clara."

Dylan thought about this for a moment. It would certainly save a lot of explaining. "I guess we can go with your idea."

She knitted her eyebrows. "What's yours?"

"Make my colleagues think that you used to be my son's nanny," he said sheepishly.

Clara rolled her eyes. "It's clear my idea's better – won't have to lie all that much."

With that issue finally put to rest, the DCI let out a sigh of relief. "Didn't know you'd be interested in older men."

"Sod off, Dylan," she laughed.

He raised both hands. "I'm going, I'm going," he said, heading for the door and stopping in his tracks shortly after. "I don't think I need to remind you that you need to be careful, right?"

Clara knew he meant both her father and John. One slip-up and it could be disastrous. She nodded. "I'm surprised you're taking this really well."

He shrugged. "Let's be honest here, Clara, we don't choose the people we fall in love with."

She was silent for a moment before scrunching her nose. "Cheesy."

Dylan chuckled in response as he stepped outside. "I wish you nothing but the best Clara Oswald, or rather, Clara Oswin."

"Thank you, Dylan."

With that, she shut the door before turning around and leaning against it. She's going to have to come up with a solid story, as much as she hated the thought of lying to John, which was strange.

There's no doubt she's attracted to him, and she could imagine the relationship becoming something more, which meant that she needed to tell him the truth at some point.

It could wait. That was something far into the future.

\-- 

John Smith examined Clara's face carefully. It was funny how she commented that he was distracted during their last date and this time, she's the one whose mind is elsewhere.

Rather than just another dinner date, both had agreed to watch a show together in the West End. She was pleasantly surprised when she discovered that the musical show that they were going to see is a comedy. The Comedy About a Bank Robbery.

He kept glancing at her every now and then throughout the first part of the show and while she did laugh and smile, he noticed that she seemed tense.

During the interval, he took the opportunity to talk to her. "You ok?"

She glanced at his direction and smiled. "Yeah, the show is great."

He nodded. "Do you need to use the loo?" he asked and then realised it sounded strange. "Because I could move."

Clara chuckled. "No, I'm fine, but thank you for being thoughtful."

He could tell that there was something bothering her but decided not to push it.

"I know I seem a bit distracted and I promise you it's got nothing to do with the show," she assured. "I haven't laughed like this in quite a while."

John flashed her a grin. "I didn't think I'd enjoy it so much."

Clara rested her head on his shoulder before gazing up at him. "Me too."

He could only sit still awkwardly. Is this the part where he put his arm around her, or should he just do nothing?

By the time he had made up his mind to put his arm around her, the intermission ended, and the theatre lights dimmed.

Clara raised her head just as the music began playing.

John shifted in his seat before he felt a hand reaching for his. He beamed as the show resumed.


	7. Chapter 7

John Smith isn't a fan of parties or any form of gathering that involved three or more people but when his colleague had invited him to his son's tenth birthday party, he couldn't have just brushed it off since Dylan mentions his son a lot.

Now here he was, sitting in his car waiting for Donna to finally step out of the house. She had phoned him earlier in the day asking if he could pick her up as her fiancée was working.

He glanced at the clock on the dashboard before honking once.

"Will you please be patient?" a voice yelled from inside the house.

John pursed his lips and crossed his arms. If she wanted a personal chauffeur, she should have hired one.

About five minutes later, Donna Noble emerged out of her home, carrying a box wrapped in blue paper which had 'Happy Birthday' written all over it, and headed straight for his car before getting into the backseat. "Alright, police boy, let's go."

"Would it kill you to say please?" he grumbled, making eye contact through the rear-view mirror.

"I could smack your head right and drive this car myself if I wanted to."

John scoffed, unable to help himself from laughing before driving off.

The journey lasted for about twenty or so minutes before they finally reached their destination and to his dismay, he discovered that there wasn't any parking space. "I'll drop you off first," he suggested.

"There's a good driver," she joked before stepping out of the vehicle.

He could see several guests lounging outside, talking and socialising, which was something he wasn't looking forward to but had to since his entire team had convinced him to come along.

He toured the street several times before finally spotting a car that was driving off and immediately parked his car in the new empty spot despite being some distance away.

John then reached for the present in the passenger seat and exited the vehicle.

"Sorry about the limited car park, boss," Dylan said as he greeted him at the front of the house. "It's usually like this during the weekend."

"Remind me to never travel to your house via car," the DCS commented. "Anyway, where's the birthday boy?"

The chief inspector chuckled. "Trying to smash a pinata into pieces with his friends."

John was led inside the house and into the backyard where most of the guests were.

"Grab some food and make yourself at home," Dylan said as he spotted the pinata flying in the air. "I just need to stop the kids from making that thing land into somebody else's home – Charlie, you can't toss it in the air like that!"

John nodded and spotted a table stacked with presents and placed Charlie's gift there before looking around. Rena and Aidan were currently chatting with a guest, and Donna is browsing the food selection.

"John?" a familiar voice called out his name and he whirled around.

"Clara," he murmured in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Clara Oswald had rehearsed this very moment in her head a hundred times now. She could pull it off convincingly. "I could ask you the same question," she replied, feigning confusion.

"Well, I'm here because my colleague invited me to his son's birthday party," he explained.

"Wait, so when you mentioned DCI Clarkson, you were talking about Dylan Clarkson?"

"Yes," he answered. "How…"

Clara flashed him a smile. "I used to be his neighbour and babysat Charlie during the weekends."

John processed her words carefully. "Oh, that makes sense."

She was relieved that he bought her lie as much as she wanted to scream into a pillow. She wasn't sure why she was struggling to lie to him. Maybe it was because he looked so innocent.

"So," he said. "When did you get here?"

The schoolteacher shrugged. "About half-an-hour ago."

He needed to act as normal as possible. If anyone in his team finds out about this, especially Donna, then-

"Police boy, where did you park your car?" Donna asked as she approached him. "Left my phone in there, I think," she continued before realising he was talking to someone.

John grimaced. So much for trying to keep his love life a low profile. "Clara, this is Donna," he introduced. "She's my colleague."

There was a twinkle in Donna's eyes as she finally connected the dots.

"Donna, this is Clara," he said, hoping that he didn't have to elaborate further. It's not like they were officially a couple and it would certainly be awkward to come up with an explanation.

"Pleasure to meet you, Clara," Donna said, beaming.

"And you too."

"Just got to ask you one question, though."

Clara raised her eyebrows.

"What made you date this prawn?"

John could only glare at his friend and colleague in silence as Clara laughed. "I think stick-insect would be a better description."

Donna glanced at him and examined him from head to toe. "You're right!"

The DCS furrowed his brows. "Funny."

The two women laughed. What an utter nightmare for him. It felt as if he was introducing Clara to his sister and she's just trying to embarrass him.

"Well, hope you're enjoying the party."

Suddenly, loud cheering could be heard as a girl managed to finally crack open the pinata, releasing a mountain of chocolates and candies from within.

"Sorry about that," John apologised once Donna left. "She can be a bit…"

"Don't worry about it," Clara replied, giving him an assuring smile. "I still can't quite believe you and Dylan work together."

That part certainly wasn't a lie. Things would surely have been less complicated if he was in a different division.

"One hell of a coincidence."

"It makes sense now when you said you were recently transferred," she murmured, noticing that Dylan was approaching them.

"Boss-man, glad you finally found someone to talk to other than your own circle of friends," the DCI teased.

"We actually know each other," Clara revealed.

Dylan tried to act as casual as possible. "How so?"

He could have sworn he saw her glare.

"We met at school on the day you were supposed to have your talk," John explained.

"Oh, wow."

"Dylan," his wife called from the kitchen. "The cake's ready."

He nodded to his wife before focusing his attention back to the couple. "Enjoy the party."

John and Clara couldn't have been more relieved for him to leave.

"Do you have any plans after this?" he inquired, suddenly getting an idea.

"Yes, I am… why?" she answered, biting her lower lip.

He flashed her a grin. "We can go to this art gallery I've been wanting to go to."

She couldn't think of a better way to spend her Saturday evening.

"Though, I suppose now I have to introduce you to my other colleagues," John muttered, catching Aidan and Rena grinning at him.

The schoolteacher chuckled, wrapping an arm around his. "I'm sure it won't be that bad."

\-- 

"Miss, why are you smiling like that?" a student asked, confused. "It's a bit creepy."

Clara snapped out of her daydream and looked at her student. "Sorry, Ethan, I'm just happy."

Her date at the art gallery was wonderful. She had discovered that John is a massive history and art nerd when he kept rambling about the paintings, not that she minded. If anything, it was adorable. Not to forget the date she has tonight.

It happened out of the blue. He drove her home and just before she left the car, she told him to pick her up on Monday evening.

"It's weird seeing you this happy, Miss, no offence."

"Right, back to your discussion on how to write a story that creates a sense of mystery," the schoolteacher said, changing the subject and ignoring the mischievous looks she was receiving from some of the pupils.

By the time school ended, she was more than eager to leave and prep for the date.

"You seem giddy all day long," Danny commented as they cross the street and headed for the tube station.

Clara shrugged. "Just happy."

He had a feeling over what might have influenced her good mood, feeling a surge of jealousy rise up his chest but said nothing.

His suspicions were later confirmed when he spotted her walk out of the compound, arms linked with a man with the silver curls.

Danny could only watch in sadness as the couple laugh and share a kiss. He regretted being a coward and not taking the leap of faith when he had the chance. At least Clara Oswald is happy and he's fine with that thought.

Clara and John didn't return until late at night, all smiles as they took the stairs to her home.

Once they reached her flat, he leaned against the wall as she unlocked the door. "I still can't believe I didn't know a conservatory exists in London, well, as in the one we went to," she commented, turning around to face him after pushing the door slightly. "Felt as if I was on another planet."

John shrugged. "I actually did a bit of googling," he admitted.

"It was a good choice," she murmured before stepping aside. "Hot chocolate?"

He blinked once, twice before regaining the ability to speak. "Yes, hot chocolate would be nice," he replied, following her inside.

\-- 

John Smith was roused from his sleep when he heard his smartphone buzz. The downside of being a light sleeper. He blinked several times to adjust his eyesight and realised that he wasn't in his bedroom, nor was he in his own bed.

The realisation then struck him. He spent the night at Clara's and immediately beamed as he felt her shift in his arms.

Gently, he rolled over, releasing her from his embrace and searched for his trousers on the floor before discovering it and pulling out the mobile device.

'Got a match on the suspect. Geoffrey Brooks – Aidan.'

What time was it? 5:52.

"John?" Clara murmured, eyes still closed.

"Sorry," he apologised placing the phone on the nightstand before joining her in bed. "Just received an update."

"Do you normally get updates around this hour?" she joked before rolling over to wrap her arms around him.

He awkwardly embraced her and buried his nose in her hair. "No, it's usually at random times."

"You're now leaving right now, are you?"

He kissed her shoulder. "No, I still have an hour or two before I have to go."

She sighed in content before hiding her face in the crook of his neck. "Good."


	8. Chapter 8

John Smith tapped his desk, feeling more and more impatient as he anticipated his colleagues' arrival.

They finally had a suspect. Aidan and Dylan were sent to his residence to bring him to the station for questioning just an hour ago and he wasn't sure if they were successful in apprehending him.

That wasn't the worst part, however, as Donna and Rena kept flashing cheeky smiles and grins at him.

His entire team had met Clara at the birthday party. It was brief, but they all shared the same idea. They knew now that he wasn't just a grumpy lonely detective that they thought he was.

"Stop it," he growled as the two women laughed in response.

"You hear wedding bells, Rena?"

"I sure do, Donna."

John shut his eyes and sighed in defeat. Where were his detectives?

"Woah, you look like you jumped out the window and landed on a patch of bush or something," Rena commented to Dylan as he and Aidan dragged the suspect in handcuffs.

John opened his eyes.

The DCI's clothes were tattered and wrinkled, and he was covered in leaves and debris from head to toe. "He jumped out a window and I chased after him."

"I drove the car towards our new friend here," Aidan stated before handing the suspect over to a constable.

"The important bit is that you managed to catch him," the DCS commented, exiting his office.

"True, but my shirt's ruined and I just had it dry-cleaned yesterday," Dylan complained.

John ignored him as he began making the necessary preparations for questioning. "Rena, you're with me."

By the time they were in the interview room, the suspect, Geoffrey Brooks, was free of his cuffs and sat in a chair with his arms crossed, determined not to utter a single syllable to them.

"Do you recognise this man, Geoffrey?" Rena questioned as she produced a photograph of the victim.

He looked away, face frowning.

"Do you recognise this chicken shop here?" she continued, producing another photograph. "You were seen talking to the victim, next to the shop, just a day before he died."

Again, no answer.

"What did you tell him because he seemed to want to leave?"

John was getting tired of not receiving any sort of response from him. "What's your favourite scene from Breaking Bad?"

His questioned not only surprised the suspect, but also his colleague.

"What?" Geoffrey said.

"You don't seem deaf to me."

"How'd you know I like that series?"

John shrugged. "You're dressed like that character."

"Jesse."

"Care to tell us a bit about Vincent Mayhew?" the DCS asked, pushing the photograph towards him.

"Asked him if he wanted something to make him happy."

Rena pursed her lips. "You know we're not idiots, right?"

Geoffrey shrugged and crossed his arms against before leaning against the chair, avoiding eye contact.

After some time, they decided to leave him and discuss with the rest of the team.

"He's not talking, which isn't great obviously, but he started talking when boss-man mentioned Breaking Bad," Rena explained. "Mind going in there since you're the geeky one?" she said to Aidan.

The man shook his head. "I'm more of a sci-fi guy, Rena, there's a difference," he explained. "I've never seen Breaking Bad before."

"What about his home?" John inquired.

"Being searched right now," Dylan replied.

\-- 

"You ok?" Clara inquired, examining the man seated just across her.

He raised his eyebrows, processing her words before realising she was talking to him. "Yep, fine."

"You sure my dad didn't threaten you?"

Danny couldn't help but chuckle. "No, he hasn't called in a while now, but I'm sure he will soon."

"Not surprising since he's probably busy telling his bezzie mates he proposed to Linda," she muttered, finishing her lunch.

He had always found it amusing how much she disliked her father's girlfriend, well, future stepmother now. Then again, Linda isn't what one would call pleasant. "At least he's happy, right?"

Clara squinted her eyes. "Whose side are you on?"

Danny laughed and raised his hands as a form of surrender. "No one, but I'm just being rational here."

"Are you suggesting I'm irrational?"

The smile immediately disappeared, and panic was written all over his face. "No, what I meant... was…" he stammered.

Clara then chuckled and he relaxed.

Danny then cleared his throat and worked up the courage to move on to the very thing he had been trying to say to her. "The bowling arena in Soho just reopened," he began. "I was thinking that maybe we could unwind and forget about marking and coursework and just have fun."

Her eyes lit up. "That's a great idea," she replied. "When?"

He tried to think of a suitable time. "This Friday?"

Clara's facial expression changed. "Sorry, can't do Friday," she apologised. "What about Saturday?"

He nodded in response.

"Great, we could invite Anna and Mitch, too."

He knew he would never have a chance with Clara, but at least they were good friends.

"Mr Pink," a student called as he approached the two teachers, followed by his friend. "You can't divide by zero, right?"

Danny knitted his eyebrows. "You can't."

The student laughed and looked at his friend. "You owe me a Twix, Mikey!"

The other boy was far less jovial. "It doesn't make sense, sir."

The maths teacher rubbed the back of his neck. "I know it's a bit of a strange concept, but it does make sense… we'll talk more about this soon, yeah?"

Mikey nodded as he was dragged away by his best friend who was eager to get his reward.

"Making bets on maths, that's new," Clara commented.

Danny shrugged. "At least they're engaging in maths in one way or another."

She then rose to her feet and grabbed her tray. "See you later, Danny."

"Looking forward to defeating you in bowling!"

\-- 

"Look, we've searched your house and we've found something that could incriminate you in the murder of Vincent Mayhew," Dylan explained to the suspect.

He had changed into a fresh set of clothes and couldn't have felt more relieved.

John, who was seated next to his colleague, remained silent as he waited for Geoffrey to talk.

"If the pistol matches the bullet, you'll be in deep waters, so I would suggest you start talking."

Hesitation washed over his face.

"Could you please hurry up before I hit you with my shoe?" John snapped.

Geoffrey raised both eyebrows. "Isn't that illegal?"

"Yes."

The suspect fiddled with his fingers, contemplating. "Ok, look, I was told to convince the guy to join our group, alright – he shoved me first."

"Who sent you?"

Geoffrey went silent again. He pressed his lips together. "I don't know, some guy."

Both detectives knew he was telling a lie. "Yeah, sure you don't know who your boss-man is," Dylan retorted.

"I want a lawyer."

The DCS pursed his lips. It seems that they will have to wait for the ballistic report.

Without another word, the two men left the room. Dylan went the opposite direction, off to make a phone call while John observed the suspect through the glass.

About three hours later, they were back in the interview room with a lawyer present and unfortunately for Geoffrey Brooks, the legal advisor he got was someone fresh out of uni.

Dylan smirked, producing a file. "Let's get started, shall we?"

\-- 

Clara stared at the man lying next to her as he caressed her bare arm soothingly, mind completely elsewhere. She had a feeling that it likely had something to do with his work. "What are you thinking about?"

"Hmm," was all the response she received from him.

She kissed his neck to get his full attention.

"Yes, sorry," he apologised before shifting his gaze to her. Here they were laying in bed and all he can think about is the closed case.

"What were you thinking about?" she inquired gently, curious, resting her chin on his chest.

"The case," he confessed with guilt. "Sorry, won't happen again, Miss Oswald."

"Want to talk about it since it's been on your mind for quite a while now."

He opened his mouth and then closed it, racking his brain for a proper explanation. He couldn't tell her the case in detail. Geoffrey Brooks started confessing the moment he was told that the bullet matched the one that came from his pistol. It was the breakthrough his team had been looking for, but he knew there was more to it. He had said it was a meeting gone wrong, and that the victim got aggressive and tried to kill him.

John couldn't help but think about the name again. Davros. It likely had something to do with him. "We got the suspect… he confessed."

Clara listened intently.

"I know I sound as if I'm not happy, but I think there's more to it."

"What do you mean?"

"He kept dodging questions about who he works for, which isn't all that surprising, but I think there's a turf war," he continued. "It's as if there's still a missing piece."

Clara is completely shut out of her father's business, and she was glad of it since she never quite approved of what he did, but at times like this, she wished she knew a bit more.

"Though I suppose I shouldn't be thinking about it too much," he said. My team keeps telling me that I work too much and need to stop and get a hobby."

She arched an eyebrow. "I hope you weren't thinking about the case earlier."

"No, no," John replied hastily. "Not at all."

Clara chuckled. "That reminds me, no receiving text messages at five in the morning."

He shot her a sceptical look. "But what if I'm needed or a new case comes through."

"I can make exceptions, but everything else is a big no," she murmured, snuggling him. "It's the weekend tomorrow and I want you to myself."

"Didn't think you'd be this bossy," he commented, stroking her arm once more and lulling her to sleep.

"I'm not receiving any complaints."

He kissed her hair. If he dared to admit, he likes it when she bosses him around. It made her seem more attractive to him, not that he would ever tell her that. The case is closed and he can finally give his full attention to the woman lying next to him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Six Months Later**

Clara Oswald knew that the day was coming. Six months. They had been dating for six months now and while their relationship has been stable and wonderful, she hadn't told John the truth yet. Every time she worked up the courage to tell him, to be open and honest, she couldn't. Seeing that face full of adoration only for her terrified her. What if it ruins their relationship?

"You look more worried than I am," her boyfriend commented as he observed her carefully while fixing his tie.

She snapped out of her thoughts. "Well, it is a bit nerve-wracking," she admitted before examining John from head to toe as he was dressed in a white shirt and black dress trousers.

Clara Oswald was finally going to introduce her boyfriend to her father tomorrow night, but this evening, they were going to meet her aunt.

"Ogling again, Miss Oswin?"

She couldn't help but smirk. Since the past few months, John had started becoming more confident of himself and did she love it. She likes to think that she played a part in it, however small it may be.

The schoolteacher checked her hair in the three vanity mirrors, avoiding his gaze. "You wish."

He chuckled and hid his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "So just to be clear, your aunt is nice and your Linda is a nightmare I should avoid tomorrow?"

Clara turned around to face him. "Well, don't avoid talking to her completely," she pointed out, wishing that the woman wasn't part of the meeting.

Her father had phoned her a few days ago and had asked if wanted to have dinner with him. The thought of introducing John to her father then crossed her mind.

Dave had been trying to find out more about his daughter's boyfriend, but his effort had been less than successful. He could just as easily hire someone to follow his daughter around, but he didn't want to invade her privacy and break her trust, so he had no choice but stick to the notion that she would eventually instigate a meeting.

The schoolteacher recalled how excited her father sounded on the phone when she had suggested bringing John along to dinner. She couldn't help, however, fear for the worst when he finds out that the so-called boyfriend is a detective at Met.

"I have a feeling that he's going not going to be all that pleased with the age-gap," John commented as he put on a suit jacket.

Clara shook her head. That was the least of her worries. "I'm sure he'll see past that once he gets to know you a little better," she said, standing up before placing her hands on his shoulders. "Just relax and be yourself and hope to God I don't murder Linda."

He grinned. "Might be a bit awkward if you did."

She got on her toes and gave him a peck on the lips. "Not the first time a criminal and detective slept with each other."

"Don't see you more of the murder-type – more like a torturer-waterboarding sort of criminal," he said jokingly.

She giggled. "Looks like Mr I don't Do Banter is bantering."

"This isn't bantering."

Clara straightened his tie. "Anyway, that's something we'll be worrying about tomorrow night," she pointed out. "You have nothing to be anxious about tonight – Aunt Vastra is a very nice person."

John Smith felt optimistic that he could at least have a good impression on her aunt. That optimism, however, died down as soon as he spotted the woman from across the restaurant.

They locked eyes and she flashed him a knowing smile.

Clara, oblivious of her boyfriend, waved her hand to catch her attention.

"Hang on," John managed. "You didn't tell me your aunt was an MI5 officer."

The schoolteacher's eyes widened. "You know my aunt?"

"We worked together on a case," he revealed. "I was in counter-terrorism, remember?"

She recalled him mentioning this, but he never revealed much beyond that. "Well, isn't this another odd coincidence?" she joked.

"I don't feel so optimistic now," he admitted as they made their way to the table.

Clara snorted. "What did you call her?"

"Nothing, we got along fine."

She didn't see why he was acting so nervous. Silently, she reached for his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"My, my, my," Vastra said as they finally got to her and Jenny.

"Hi, Aunt Vastra," Clara greeted. "Hi, Jenny."

Both women had their eyes set on John who wondered what the hell he got himself into. The best he could do now is glancing at his girlfriend for some guidance. Anything, really.

"This is John Smith," the schoolteacher introduced, wrapping an arm around his. "John, my Aunt Vastra and Jenny."

Vastra smirked. "Yes, we know each other, dear."

"Worked on a case a few years ago," the detective added. "Um, nice to see you again."

"Yeah, he mentioned that earlier," Clara said as all four took their seats.

Jenny decided to start the conversation as she wasn't able to contain her excitement. "Clara said that you have a team of your own."

John fought the urge to bite his nails. "Yes."

"Still not a man of many words," Vastra commented lightly. "How's life as a DCS?"

"Fine, just solving cases and catching criminals," he replied, no longer feeling as tense as before. "What about you?"

"Enjoying retirement for the most part – spending time with my wife," Vastra revealed, glancing at Jenny. "Some days I take cases that interest me."

"You're a private detective?"

"More of a consultant, really."

"Aunt Vastra just hates being idle," Clara revealed, looking up from the menu.

The chatting then shifted to the schoolteacher and John took the opportunity to browse through the food and drinks selection.

"Clara says that you're quite the artist," Jenny mentioned.

He shifted his gaze. "Well, I'm not that good, but I can draw," he began.

Clara snorted. "Stop selling yourself short," she commented. "You should see his work."

John felt his ears burning and cheeks reddening, flashing her a kind smile.

"Good evening," a waiter greeted as he approached them. "Are we ready to order?"

The detective couldn't have been more thankful for the great timing.

\-- 

"Come on, just admit that it wasn't that bad," Clara coaxed as they entered John's home.

"It wasn't as bad as I had imagined," he confessed, shutting the door and loosening his tie. "But I would have been happy if she didn't mention the part where I borrowed her car to chase the suspect."

She giggled. "Which you ended up denting the front end."

He grimaced at the memory. Vastra's vehicle was parked closer and so it was a no brainer to use hers to chase the fleeing suspect.

"If it's any consolation, my aunt likes you," she assured which earned her a smile.

"I just hope I give a better first impression to your dad."

Clara then realised that she hadn't even told him the truth yet. She had to do it tonight but couldn't bear the thought of her true identity causing a rift in the relationship.

"I think I'm going to go to bed early," John announced one foot on the step.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you," she said, face serious.

The detective furrowed his brows. "Did I say something I wasn't supposed to during-"

"No, no, it's me."

He waited for her to speak.

"Right," she began. "You just have to promise not to get upset or angry."

He was even more confused now but remained silent.

"I think you should know about who I am before meeting my dad tomorrow," she continued, finally making eye contact. Those eyes of his full of nothing but adoration. She knew she couldn't do it. At least not yet. How could she tell the man she loves that she's been lying about her past? She loves him. "I love you," Clara blurted.

John's lips slowly formed into a grin.

She wondered why he looks amused at the same time. "Well, say something."

"For a second there, I thought you were going to say you were a supercriminal or something," he said.

Clara let out a nervous chuckle, trying her best to sound normal. "Sounds like something out of fiction."

He slowly approached her and gently held her wrist before bringing the back of her hand to his lips, never breaking eye contact. She could see it in his eyes. "I love you, Clara," he whispered. "Supercriminal or not."

Without another word, she got on her toes and kissed him, forgetting about her woes, forgetting about her intention earlier, everything. The only person who matters to her right now is John.

"Maybe we should take this upstairs?" he suggested, the moment their kisses grew more desperate.

She nodded and intertwined her hand with his, leading the way. She reasoned that the truth could wait just a little longer.

\-- 

John Smith couldn't help but notice the change in Clara. She seemed a lot less strained and happier compared to before. Maybe it was because of the previous night. He was sure of it because he felt the same too.

"How do you feel about tonight?" she murmured, snuggling him.

He pondered the question for a moment. "He's likely going to hate me," he answered, lazily drawing circles on her back. "I can't imagine what your future step-mother's going to say."

"Her opinion doesn't matter and the same goes for my dad," she stated, kissing his shoulder.

John cracked one eye open. "So what's the point of meeting them, then?"

"Dad's been asking about you a lot."

"If dinner goes sideways, I suggest we leave early and go somewhere fun."

Clara chuckled. "Deal."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, Miss Oswin, I'm going to sleep in because a certain schoolteacher kept me up all night."

She punched his arm. "Oi, you're to blame, too."

His lips curved into a smile before he sighed and pulled her closer to him.

Later that day, the couple were preparing for dinner with Dave.

"Right, I have some good news for you," Clara announced cheerfully when John entered the room. "Linda's not coming."

"That's one last person throwing questions at us, I suppose," he commented.

"Exactly, no Linda to say something stupid."

John stared at his girlfriend. "You really hate this woman, don't you?"

"Hate is too strong of a word, dislike sounds better," the schoolteacher sighed. "But enough about her," she said. "Get dressed, detective."

"Yes, boss."


	10. Chapter 10

Dave Oswald was all smiles when he entered the restaurant, nodding at some of the waiters who recognised him and led him to a table that was situated in a quieter part of the room.

Clara had been vague, from the very beginning, whenever he asked her about her so-called boyfriend.

There was even a time he thought that 'John' doesn't exist and that it was just someone she made up just to stop Linda from bombarding questions regarding her love life.

"Would you like to order a drink first, sir?" the waitress asked.

He shook his head. "No, I'll just waiting for my daughter and her significant other," he replied before she left him alone.

A few moments later, Dave Oswald finally spotted his daughter making her way towards him and his gaze then set on the man following her.

He felt as if his heart attempted to jump out of his chest. He recognised the man as Dylan's boss.

"Hi, dad," Clara greeted as she kissed her father on the cheek.

Dave couldn't quite recover from the shock just yet, staring at John who felt even more nervous by the second.

"This is John Smith," she introduced. "John, this is my father."

The detective extended his hand and both men shook hands. "It's very nice to meet you, Mr Oswin."

Dave cleared his throat. "Likewise," he muttered before all three sat down.

There were so many questions running through his mind as he glanced at Clara. Why hadn't she mentioned such a significant detail beforehand? Why the hell is she dating someone from Scotland Yard? Of all the humans in London, why did it have to be this John Smith?

"So, John," he began, trying hard not to sound cross. "How did you and Clara meet?" he asked. "She said it was under unusual circumstances."

"Aye, we met in the men's room at her school," the detective explained. "She was looking for a student she thought was hiding in one of the stalls."

Dave forced a smile, gripping the menu with excessive force. "Unusual indeed," he commented. "Just like what happened to me and her mother, though not that strange of a meeting."

"Clara mentioned you met her mother thanks to a leaf," John pointed out.

"Yes."

Clara, on the other hand, could feel her father's mood shifting and decided to divert the conversation. "How's work?" she inquired casually. She had told John that her father owns a courier company that operates in several countries and planning to open business in a few more, enough of an excuse to avoid suspicion as to why she doesn't see him as much.

"Same old, same old," Dave answered. "For as long people have something to ship, we deliver, which reminds me, Linda sends her regards."

"I'm sorry to hear that she's unwell."

The old man shrugged. "It happens," he said, suddenly feeling the urge to light a cigar. "So, what exactly do you do for a living John?"

John had been right with his prediction that his girlfriend's father would take an immediate dislike to him but decided to put the thought aside. "I'm a detective," he answered. "I've been one for over 25 years now."

Their conversation was interrupted when the same waitress came over to the table once more. All three placed their order and shortly after, Dave excused himself to use the men's room.

"He hates me," John said the moment Dave was out of earshot. "This is worse than I imagined."

"He doesn't hate you, well, he might hate you a tiny bit, but I'm sure he'll like you once he gets to know you a bit better," Clara comforted, rubbing his back soothingly.

"It's likely due to the age-gap."

She sighed. Her father would have reacted the same way regardless of whether John was significantly older than her or not. "I know this is going to sound a bit strange, but he doesn't quite see people in the police force in a good light."

The detective frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked, eyes full of curiosity.

Just like that, she lost her confidence to tell the truth again. "He… doesn't trust the police… thinks they're not doing their job properly."

Clara wished the ground would swallow her then and there. She knew what held her back. She couldn't bear the thought of their relationship ending. If John knew the truth, he would see it as a conflict of interest and do the right thing.

"How do I prove to him that I'm not bent?"

"I honestly do not know," she confessed since that wasn't even the issue.

Dave Oswald sighed defeatedly as he looked down at the sink before slowly glancing up to look in the mirror. The relationship between his daughter and the detective is a dangerous one.

If that boyfriend of hers finds out who he really is, then all hell would break loose. He didn't want to see his only child suffering another heartbreak again.

As much as he didn't like John, he thought it was best to give him a chance. All he had to do was avoid topics relating to crime and his associates.

Why a detective? He would have been happy if the man was a bloody clown but no, it just had to be someone who was likely chasing after him.

"I suppose I'm safe with Dylan around," he muttered to himself.

With another defeated sigh, Dave fixed his collar before exiting the men's room, walking with more confidence this time. He made a mental note to have a chat with Clara soon.

The rest of the evening went far better than earlier, with Dave having to calm down a bit and no longer glaring at John every five seconds.

"It was nice seeing you, dad," Clara murmured as she hugged her father.

Dave beamed. "The feeling is mutual," he replied before shaking hands with John. "Stay safe, though I'm sure the detective will make sure of that."

"You too," Clara said, waving her father goodbye before hooking arms with John as they headed for the tube station nearby.

Dave silently observed the couple before a black sedan pulled over next to him. He entered the car and shut the door. "St James' Club."

"Yes, sir."

\-- 

"Would you like me to tell you something about yourself?" Clara asked later that night as she climbed into bed.

John looked away from the television, eyebrows raised. "What?"

"You're audible when you think."

He flashed her a nervous smile. She was so good at reading him. "How do you know I'm not thinking about the case I'm currently working on?"

She rolled her eyes, puffing her pillow. "Please, you only brood this badly when you think something went wrong."

He opened his mouth to argue but then shut it when he realised that she was right. "I don't brood."

"No, you pout," she laughed, resting her head on the pillow. "So spill it, DCS Smith."

He switched off the telly before glancing at her. "Dinner with your dad."

"Go on."

"From the looks of it, he seemed disappointed that you're dating an old-"

"Don't you dare say it."

"Well, it's true, isn't it?"

She reached for his hand and squeezed it. "We talked about this," she whispered. "The reason I wanted to introduce you to him is that I want to show him how happy I am," she continued before placing her hand on his cheek. "Besides, dad has always been a bit sceptical of people in general."

He kissed her hand. "I love you, Clara, and I just want him to approve of us."

She couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "My old-fashioned detective," she whispered. "I'm sure he'll come around at some point."

"Just want to make sure you're just as happy as I am."

Clara buried her face in his chest. "Trust me, John Smith, you have no idea," she murmured, looking up. "So stop worrying so much will you?"

As much as he wanted to forget about it, he couldn't. There was just something about Dave that seemed off to him.

He bent down and gave her a kiss. "Yes, boss."

\-- 

"Did you know?" Dave asked calmly, holding the cigar to his lips with one hand while the other held the phone to his ear.

"Yes," Dylan admitted.

"How long?"

The DCI hesitated for a moment. "More or less five months," he replied, expecting his boss to blow up anytime soon.

Dave guessed that Pink knew as well but never told him because Clara had her fingers wrapped around him. At this point, he was sure everyone knew but him. "I want everything on John Smith," he demanded. "Every little detail, hell, even his school records if you find them," he said through gritted teeth.

"With all due respect, Dave, I think you're over-reacting," Dylan pointed out.

Dave tried his best to control his temper, exhaling through his nose and trying his best not to smash his phone. "Do you even realise what is at stake here?"

"Yes, but, if Clara is careful as she's been before, Smith won't find out anything you don't want him to."

"How the fuck did they end up together?" Dave snapped.

The detective maintained his composure. "I'm sure Clara has told you that."

"How do you know he's not an undercover agent using Clara to get to me?"

Dylan massaged his temple. "Everything on Smith checks out," he explained. "There isn't some sort of secret operation by Scotland Yard, Dave."

Dave took another puff of his cigar. "I want those records by tomorrow."

"Yes, boss."

Without another word, he hung up and tossed the phone aside, deep in thought. He glanced to his left and signalled one of his men to come to him. "Tell Pink to come to the club tomorrow night."

"Yes, sir."

Just as the man left, Dave's phone rang, and he lifted it slightly to check who was phoning him. Linda.

"How was dinner?"

"Fine," he sighed, knowing that she probably has something to say about Clara. "The boyfriend's a bit older than I expected."

"And that's what's upsetting you?"

Dave smiled. "Let's just say that I don't really have a good impression of him."

"Oh, please, can't be worse than that ex accidentally flashing everyone during Christmas dinner," Linda said. "Besides, it's her choice, so let her suffer the consequences if you think she's made the wrong decision."

"You know I care about my daughter," he snapped. "I would appreciate it if you could stop making stupid comments."

Linda sighed. "Sorry, that's not what I meant."

"I'll see you tomorrow," Dave murmured before ending the call.


	11. Chapter 11

Danny Pink knew exactly why he had been summoned to see his boss. He knew it was going to happen the moment Clara told him that she and John were going to have dinner with her father.

The former soldier didn't regret his actions, however, as he had been hired to protect Clara and that was exactly what he did when she requested him to keep her relationship with the detective a secret.

As much as he didn't like John Smith, he had no choice but to respect her wishes. He realised what he was getting himself into and was ready to face the consequences.

When Danny entered the club, he scanned the room for Dave and found him sitting in his usual spot and headed straight for him.

"Have a seat," Dave said calmly, motioning to the empty seat in front of him. "I'm sure you know why you're here."

The former soldier did what he was told and braced himself for whatever lecture or yelling he was going to get himself into.

"How much did you know?"

"No more than you do, sir," Danny answered honestly. "They met on the day Clarkson was supposed to give his talk."

Dave swirled his whiskey. "Why was I never informed?"

Danny sat with his back straight. "My job is to protect Clara from harm," he explained. "I didn't think it was my place to intrude into her private life."

"Right," Dave muttered, knowing full well the bodyguard has a point. As much as he wanted to vent his anger onto him, he couldn't. "I'm assigning you to a new task, well, more of an addition to your current one."

"Keep track of Clara and her boyfriend's whereabouts," he continued. "Observe them from a distance and be on the lookout for anybody who looks suspicious."

"Sir," Danny began, wondering why his boss seemed paranoid.

"A gang is moving in on my territories," the man explained. "They've either been recruiting my men or pushing them away these past few months."

The former soldier still didn't see why he had to stalk Clara's every move.

"They also know who I am," Dave said begrudgingly. There was only one possibility as to how his identity was compromised: someone leaked it. It had to be someone from his inner circle.

Danny nodded, finally understanding his situation.

"I also trust you not to mention this meeting to Clara," his boss added. "Not a single detail."

"Yes, sir."

Dave sighed tiredly, downing his drink. "Is she happy?"

"Pardon?"

"Clara, is she happy with that detective?"

"I don't think I have a right in-"

"What's your personal opinion, as someone observing from afar?"

Danny cleared his throat as he chose his words carefully. "She is happy," he revealed. "Happier than ever, really."

Dave scoffed. "It's funny that someone working against her father makes her feel that way."

The former soldier said nothing as he patiently sat in his seat.

"You can go, Pink."

Danny stood up and nodded at his boss. "Sir," he said curtly before leaving.

\-- 

The moment Clara Oswald saw her bodyguard waiting for her downstairs at the lobby in the morning, she knew that something was on his mind.

Danny was a man of few words, but this time, he was quieter than usual. He seemed on edge. He greeted her good morning and off they headed to the tube station.

It was becoming a rarity for them to travel to school together as John would usually be the one to drive her there.

"You look like you're ready to karate chop someone," Clara commented.

Danny cracked a small smile. "Well, I am your bodyguard."

"Come on," she coaxed. "What's bothering you?"

He shrugged.

"What did my father tell you this time?"

Danny pondered a response carefully. He didn't want to reveal too much. "Let's just say he wasn't in a jovial mood."

Clara pursed her lips. "If I can respect his decision to marry Linda, then I'm sure he can respect mine to date whoever I like."

The maths teacher raised an eyebrow. That was the first time he had heard her talking about her relationship openly. She was usually quite reserved about it beforehand. "I guess he's just looking out for your best interest."

She shook her head. "He's just looking out for his," she corrected. "Dad's worried that my relationship with a detective might compromise him and his business."

As much as he wanted to assure her that that wasn't the case, he bit his tongue and kept his silence. Dave had ordered the issue to be kept a secret from her and that was what he was going to do. He decided to change the subject. "Summer break's almost here," he said. "You excited to be away from Courtney?"

Clara chuckled as she produced her Oyster card. "As much as Courtney annoys me, she's one of my best students if she puts effort into her work, but I will appreciate the time not worrying about them misbehaving."

"In other words, you're glad to be away from all the chaos?"

She grinned. "Fine, I admit it," she confessed. "I'm sure you're just as excited."

He shrugged. "Won't make much of a difference to me since I'll just be cooped up in my flat."

She shot him a look. "You do realise that you can take a few days off if you wanted to, right?"

"I don't think your father will like that," he commented as they waited for the train to arrive. "Besides, I'll have plenty of time to catch up on some reading."

"Whatever makes you happy, Danny."

\-- 

"You should take her on holiday," Donna suggested, receiving a bewildered look from her colleague.

"I'd have to ask Clara-"

"No, surprise her, you prawn – it's can be anywhere, and it doesn't necessarily have to be outside the country."

John pouted. "What if she doesn't like where I'll take her?" he argued. "I think it's wise to ask her where she wants to go, and we can work our way from there."

Donna had been trying to convince him to take a week off and take his girlfriend somewhere nice. She knew he hadn't exactly taken a break for quite some time, and it was overdue. "Trust me when I say that she'll love wherever you take her – even Brighton!"

"I'm not taking her to Brighton," he grumbled as a thought came to him.

"Where are you taking her then?" she questioned, knowing that he already had a destination in mind.

The DCS pondered an answer, wondering if she'll find his idea stupid. "York."

"Why?"

He fiddled with his hands, feeling the urge to bite his nails. "She said she had always wanted to go there."

"Then take her there!"

The detective rolled his eyes. "Fine, I will."

Donna got to her feet. "And don't even think about changing that plan of yours or worse, cancelling it."

"Donna, I have work to do," John stated, pointing at the pile of paperwork sitting on his desk.

His friend shot him a look. "Don't forget to actually do something about it," she warned before leaving his office.

He massaged his forehead and waited for her to leave before checking his phone for any messages. His lips curved upwards when he noticed a message from Clara.

_'Pick me up at 4:30?'_

He sent a reply and placed the smartphone aside to focus on completing the paperwork so that he could leave early.

By the time he was done, he had half an hour to spare and decided to leave, receiving suggestive looks from his colleagues, all of which he ignored.

About twenty minutes later, he finally reached his destination and spotted Clara waiting by the main gate.

"Hello," she greeted happily once she got in and pecked him on the cheek.

"Hello, Clara Oswin," he replied before driving off. "Do you have anything planned for the summer break?"

She arched a brow and flashed a playful look. "Not that I'm aware of."

He kept his eyes on the road. "Why don't we go somewhere?"

She likes the sounds of it. Just the two of them spending time together. Just them. "What do you have in mind?"

"It's a surprise," he answered, hoping she would say yes.

Clara beamed. "I'd love to."

John could only grin in response. He couldn't wait for the trip already.

\-- 

"So, I'll only be gone for a few days," Clara explained from her bedroom as she finished packing.

Danny was waiting in the living room, wondering what he was getting himself into.

"And if dad wants to know what I'm doing and where I am, you tell him to call me."

The former shoulder grimaced. "He wasn't happy the last time he contacted me."

"Danny," she said, emerging with a suitcase. "He's not going to kill you or hurt you," she assured. "The worst he'll do is look at you as if he'll kill you," she continued. "He uses it as a way to scare people."

"It definitely works," Danny retorted.

"Look, I doubt he'll phone you anyway," she stated. "We texted a few days ago."

Danny nodded in resignation. "Do you need help carrying your suitcase?"

"No, I'm good," she answered, heading outside. "I packed light."

"Have a good trip."

Clara flashed him a smile. "Thanks, and keep an eye on my flat," she laughed.

He chuckled, following her out before she locked door. As he watched her disappear down the staircase, his smile slowly faded. He was in deep waters.

Since the meeting, he had been updating Dave on his daughter's whereabouts like the good soldier he is, and he hated it.

Danny contemplated updating his boss.

He had been warned to take his job seriously and the last thing he wanted to do was to screw things up, but at the same time, he didn't want Dave or anybody else for that matter spying on Clara while she's on holiday.

"I must be insane," he muttered, pocketing the smartphone and returning to his flat upstairs.

Just before he got inside, he watched as John helped her with the suitcase by putting it in the bonnet while she went to the passenger door.

As much as Danny wished that it was him taking Clara somewhere nice, he hoped that she would have an enjoyable trip, wherever it was she was going to.


	12. Chapter 12

John took a quick glance at his sleeping partner and smiled as he noticed that she was fast asleep, just as he had predicted and hoped she would. It was the reason why he had suggested them leaving so early in the morning.

Clara had been throwing him questions here and there, attempting to get a hint of where he was taking her, but he was resilient, insisting that the surprise would be ruined.

By the time the couple reached their destination, she was still asleep, and he decided to let her get some proper rest while he checked in at the reception.

John was pleased to find her awake when he returned to the car with a set of keys.

Clara took in the scenery around her. "Where did you kidnap me to?" she asked jokingly.

"I will have you know that I didn't kidnap you and that you came here on your own free will," he said with a grin and opened the bonnet. "As for where," he continued, pulling out their suitcases. "York."

Her eyes widened in surprised. "You drove us all the way to York?" she said enthusiastically.

The detective waved his hand in the air, gesturing to the lake next to their cottage. "York."

She grabbed the lapels of his jacket before kissing him square on the lips. "Didn't know you could be so romantic."

"It was actually Donna's idea," he confessed as they headed for the cottage. "She suggested I take you somewhere during term break."

"And you made the right decision listening to wise Donna."

"She's not that wise," he mumbled, unlocking the door.

"Just admit it."

He pushed the door forward before looking over his shoulder with a twinkle in his eyes. "No."

"Wow, this is beautiful," the schoolteacher commented, looking around the cosy living room. "There's even a fireplace."

"Not really that useful since it's boiling right now," John commented as he peeled off his jacket and hung it on one of the hooks attached to the wall.

"Still nice to have and see," Clara said before entering what seemed to be the only bedroom. "You've really outdone yourself, John Smith."

He followed her inside before leaving their suitcases next to the mattress. "It wasn't a difficult choice after doing a bit of research."

"You mean googling?" she suggested, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He placed his hands on her hips.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

John arched a brow. "The room feels a bit chilly despite the weather outside?" he guessed, hoping he was right.

Clara chuckled. "Daft old man," she murmured before snogging him.

"Oh."

"Yes, oh."

Without warning, he lifted her off the ground and twirled her around, earning a gasp before it turned into a fit of giggles.

\-- 

"The nearest supermarket is Asda and it's just ten minutes from here," John stated, lazily watching his girlfriend look for her clothes. "Drove past it."

"We'll just go there then," she suggested. "So, come on."

"Five more minutes?" he requested, stretching.

She grabbed his shirt and tossed it at him. "And who was it earlier complaining he was hungry?" she laughed.

"Excuse me for driving four hours straight while you sleep throughout the journey," he replied, fighting the urge to flash her a grin.

Clara raised her eyebrows. "Didn't think a four-hour journey could tire you out so easily."

"That and obviously the exercise we've been doing," he mumbled, pulling the duvet up.

She laughed before launching herself at him. "Oi, don't you dare go to sleep!"

"This isn't helping," he groaned as she draped herself across him.

"Come on then, detective."

John cracked one eye opened and took in the sight of her. She was doing those things with her eyes again. It was impossible to say no.

"We might as well explore the town."

He beamed. He loves her to bits. "Yes, boss."

She climbed out of bed and went straight to the bathroom while he gathered his clothes, happy and content.

He couldn't wait to have dinner under the stars later in the evening. It would be fantastic.

Once the couple finished their food shopping, the schoolteacher insisted they drive past the small town not far from where they were, just to take a few pictures.

"Looks like there's a wedding," John commented, slowing down when he spotted a crowd walking out of the church.

He felt his heart jump out of his chest when he spotted a familiar face among the cheerful guests. A man he met not too long ago. The groom himself. Dave Oswald.

The vehicle halted and the detective glanced to his left.

Clara had her mouth agape as she stared at her father, all smiles and arm linked with the bride. Her face went pale and tears were threatening to come out of her eyes.

She made eye contact with her father in the final moments before ordering John to drive.

He didn't need to be told twice to step on the accelerator. The car zipped past the scene and he thought it would be best for them to return to the cottage, the happy mood ruined by what they just witnessed.

The journey felt longer than it was and the detective pin-pointed it to the silence in the car. Not a single word was uttered. Just total silence.

He could tell she was crying as she faced the other way, sniffing every now and then and it broke his heart to see her in such a state.

Once they reached their accommodation, neither made a move to leave the vehicle.

John considered his words very carefully. "Clara," he said gently, hoping she would at least look at him.

She wiped the tears and glanced at him. Her eyes and nose were red. Clara then opened the door and got out, hugging herself.

He quickly went to her side and hugged her, hoping that the gesture would at least make her feel slightly better. She had mentioned to him on several occasions that she loves hugs.

The sobbing then started, and John guided her to the cottage, mind racing. What is he supposed to do in a situation like this? He was terrible at comforting people.

He set her down on the sofa as she continued crying into his chest.

Eventually, she calmed down, but he refused to let her go until he was sure she was completely fine, which was unlikely. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

Clara's eyes were half shut. "I can't believe he would do such a thing," she said tiredly, voice hoarse.

"He could have just told me," she continued. "I'd still be supportive even if I don't like Linda."

"I'm sorry for taking you here," John murmured, regretting the decision.

She lifted her head. "Don't you dare apologise – this isn't your fault."

He still couldn't help but feel bad. Maybe he should have taken Donna's suggestion of travelling to Brighton seriously.

"Don't kick yourself over it," she said. "If we had gone someplace else, I would have never known how selfish he is."

A ringing sound tore their moment and it came from Clara's bag. Both knew exactly who was calling.

John continued rubbing Clara's arm soothingly until the ringing stopped. They had a few more days left, and he wasn't sure how that was going to turn out since all his plans are ruined to put it simply.

"We can go back to London if you want."

"God no," she retorted. "You didn't drive us here for nothing."

He flashed her a kind smile. "I wouldn't mind."

"I enjoy our alone time together," she insisted, placing a hand on his cheek. "Nothing but the two of us."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

He nodded. "Ok, if that's what you want."

Clara thought it might be a good idea to change the topic and elevate the mood a bit. She was determined to spend as much quality time with John as possible. "I saw that picnic blanket you were hiding in the cupboard," she commented.

"Thought you'd fancy dinner under the stars."

Finally, she cracked a small smile. "I'd love that very much."

\-- 

Dave inhaled deeply and breathed out of his mouth as he tried his best to control his temper while waiting for the receiver on the other end to answer his call. "I thought I made it clear that you'd report her every movement to me."

"I meant to text you after your reception, sir," Danny lied, bracing himself for whatever was coming.

"Don't play games with me, Pink," Dave said through gritted teeth. "How fucking stupid do you think I am?"

Danny said nothing, taking whatever anger and insult his boss threw at him.

"I know you care about her Pink and look what you've done – had you told me she was holidaying here with that detective I would have taken the measures to avoid them."

The former soldier didn't expect the conversation to take such a turn. He had known Dave Oswald for about five years and he never had the impression that he was the sort of person to blame everyone but him for any sort of misfortune.

"One more screw up from you, Pink, and you'll be dealt with," Dave threatened. "Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Danny lowered the mobile phone from his ear. He was expecting the call to go a lot worse. As much as he hated reporting to Dave, at least he was still in charge of Clara's safety.

He thought about sending her a message, asking if she was ok. Well, that would be stupid since it's likely that she's upset and even if she is, she has her boyfriend.

It wouldn't hurt just to send her an apology.

He exhaled through his mouth before unlocking his phone and composing a message.

\-- 

"I think the last time I did this with my parents, I was around nine."

"I've never done this before."

John and Clara were laying on top of a blanket, observing the stars in the skies.

"Ever wondered what's out there?" she inquired, almost in a whisper.

He glanced at her. "Back when I was young, I used to think there were multiple universes out there," he said, feeling silly already. "I know it sounds ridiculous-"

"Nothing ridiculous about that," she interrupted.

He beamed before looking back at the bright stars. "I'd imagine there would be a different version of me somewhere out there, living life as maybe a doctor or even a time-traveller or both!"

Clara grinned. She could definitely see him as an eccentric time-traveller.

"Maybe that version of me would kidnap you from school every now and then just to travel to a planet where it's made of ice-cream."

"I'd love that," she whispered, pressing her cheek against his shoulder. "Just the two of us zipping through time and space."

"Are you ok?" he asked, thinking that it was finally safe to ask that question.

She rested a hand on his chest. "If I'm honest, no," she confessed. "I… I'm angry and upset and I feel betrayed."

"It's even more worrying if you said you were fine."

She didn't want the moment to be ruined with the thoughts of her father. "What do you have planned for us tomorrow?"

John shrugged. "It's up to you what you want to do – I only got this far," he explained. "You're the boss."

"I'll be honest, I don't feel like leaving the cottage," she began. "And the WIFI here is surprisingly good for being secluded."

"Stay in bed all day and 'binge-watch' something as the young people say while eating ice-cream?" he guessed.

She nodded. "You read my mind."

"It's a good thing we have ice-cream."

Clara beamed before she captured his lips. Things were going to be just fine with John around.


	13. Chapter 13

Clara Oswald took a quick glance at the buzzing phone before placing in back down on the bedside table, having no intention to answer the call.

"You have to talk to him at some point," John pointed out.

"At some point which is not now," she stated, leaning back against the soft pillows.

They were on their final day in York and in a few hours, John would drive them back to London. They spent the past few days cooking meals, swimming in the lake and exploring a small town an hour away from their accommodation.

He stared at her for a moment before deciding to let it go. It wasn't any of his business after all.

"Got anywhere nice to go before we leave this place?" she inquired.

"No, I just thought that maybe we could relax and enjoy the tranquillity before I return to the madhouse that is Scotland Yard."

"Ah yes, Donna will surely interrogate you."

"Along with the rest of the team," he added. "Even if they're doing it through her."

Clara grinned. "I'm sure they miss their grumpy detective chief superintendent."

"It's probably the eyebrows," he said, wiggling them. "They're too expressive."

"Which isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"Is that so?"

Clara giggled. "Yeah, it's easy to tell if your happy or grumpy just by looking at them."

"Hilarious, Miss Oswin," he muttered although he wasn't able to help himself from smiling.

By noon the couple was ready to leave the cottage. The schoolteacher waited in the car while John went to the reception to return the keys.

She had her head leaned against the window, watching the calm lake. She wouldn't mind coming here again the future despite what happened just a few days ago.

"I don't think we left anything back at the cottage," the detective commented as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"I'm sure we have everything."

"I hope you enjoyed the trip even if it was… it took an unexpected turn at first."

Clara's shrugged. "At least you made everything better and I hope we can come here again."

"Exactly what I was thinking," he agreed, starting the car.

"Oh, that reminds me," she said. "Why don't I drive half-way through?" she offered.

John arched a brow. "Are you sure?"

"Yep, you drove us here while I slept like the dead."

He grinned. "Only if this old girl allows you."

Clara raised her eyebrows. "I didn't realise this car has a mind of her own."

He chuckled, driving away from their little holiday getaway. "You can drive when we get to Leicester."

"Deal."

\-- 

It had been two weeks since the incident in York and Dave hadn't been successful in contacting his daughter. He was assured by Danny that she was fine and well, which relieved him, but the thought that she was ignoring him bothered him.

He knew what he did was wrong, and he was at fault, but the wedding would have been tense and awkward with a police detective present when so were his 'business partners'. How the hell was he supposed to explain to them that his daughter is dating the very man tasked to shut them down?

Dave Oswald was only left with one choice and as much as he hated taking that option, for fear his daughter would be even more cross with him, it was the only way he could talk to her.

While the plan may sound simple, executing it wasn't. Whenever he made the decision to see his daughter at her flat, he would be informed by Danny that she wasn't at home or she was out with John Smith until finally, he received the news that she was home, but with her boyfriend.

Well, to hell with the detective. He wanted to speak to Clara.

And that was exactly what he did one afternoon when he showed up unexpectedly at her doorstep.

"Dad," she said as confusion washed over her face. "What are you doing here?" she whispered.

"I came to talk and explain some things I should have had the courage to explain when I had the chance," he answered.

Clara thought for a moment before she decided to let her father in by stepping aside and allowing him to enter the flat.

"Ah, John, good to see you again," Dave said cheerfully, forcing a smile at the man who was lounging on the sofa.

The detective was taken by surprise by his presence and scrambled to his feet. "Mr Oswin," he greeted.

"I apologise for interrupting your date at home, but I believe I owe Clara an explanation," Dave stated, gazing at his daughter.

John took the hint and headed for the bedroom.

"So, the explanation?" she asked, waiting for her father to elaborate why he hadn't invited his own daughter to the wedding.

"First, I would like to say I'm sorry," Dave began. "I know that it was wrong of me to leave you out of something so important in my life."

Clara remained silent as she listened to him.

"I… well, the wedding was supposed to be held next year, but Linda said she wouldn't mind getting married to just a few friends and family members present."

"Clearly."

Dave realised his mistake. "That's not what I meant," he sighed, hiding his face in his hands. It wasn't like Linda and Clara got along anyway.

"Would you care to rephrase your sentence then?"

He sighed defeatedly. "I was afraid that your safety might be compromised – if John recognised one of my-" he said quietly.

"So you're blaming John then, for not sending me an invitation?" she concluded calmly.

He grimaced. "Clara, you have to understand that someone like John-"

"Or do you care more about your friends more than me?" she hissed.

She was used to her father not being all that present in her life ever since her mother died. He left her with her aunt and just focused on his business with the excuse to 'secure their future', whatever the hell that meant.

Dave felt ashamed and couldn't bear to look her in the eye. "I love you, Clara, more than you will ever know," he whispered. "Everything, I do, it's all for you."

"I never asked you to do any of this."

His shoulders sank. "I just wanted what's best for you."

She stared at her father before looking away. "I know it's not easy or simple to leave your life behind, but the least you could have done is tell me you're marrying her rather than having to discover it myself."

"It was foolish of me not to," he admitted. "I'm sorry… is there any way I can make it up to you?"

She shrugged. "I honestly don't know, dad."

Dave decided that it was time to leave. He got to his feet. "I won't take any more of your time," he murmured. "I hope we can have dinner together, with or without John – up to you."

"I'll think about it."

He nodded as he headed for the door while she trailed behind him. Just as he stepped outside, he turned around and faced her. "If my life had been slightly different, I would have welcomed John with open arms," he confessed. "You two seem to be enamoured with each other."

Clara was taken by surprise by her father's comments. At least it was something compared to him saying he didn't approve of her boyfriend. "Thank you, dad, it means a lot to me."

He nodded. "Bye, Clara."

"Bye, dad."

She watched her father disappear down the staircase before shutting the door, processing the conversation she had with her father.

"John?" she called. "You can stop hiding now," she chuckled.

The detective emerged from the bedroom while eyeing her cautiously. "Are you happy or sad or angry or any of those combinations?" he inquired, unable to tell.

Clara paused for a moment. "I'm not so sure," she said. "I mean, it was a bit of a rollercoaster."

"Would you like to talk about?"

The schoolteacher suddenly felt the urge to make herself a cup of tea and so she headed for the kitchen. "He said he's sorry and wants to make it up to me."

"Ok," John replied, waiting for her to elaborate further.

"I'm still a bit mad about that."

"Right."

"He also said that he approves of you, in his own complicated way – he didn't say it directly," she revealed. "Which is a good thing since it finally puts an end to you worrying so much," she said lightly.

John arched a brow. All he ever cared about was her happiness and if her father's approval makes her feel slightly better, then he's happy. "That's good, I guess."

"It definitely is," she agreed, setting the kettle on the stove before turning around to wrap her arms around him. "Though I'm still mad at what he did."

"You've mentioned it twice now," he murmured.

She wriggled free from his embrace. "It's going to take more than an apology to fix things."

\-- 

"Boss," Dylan greeted as he entered his superior's office before shutting the door, knowing full well why he was summoned.

"Anything on Davros?"

The DCI shook his head. "Nothing, I mean, I haven't found any useful leads."

John nodded. "Just keep looking and make sure to keep it discreet."

"Bit difficult to do that when I'm asking special branch questions."

"Look elsewhere if you have to," the DCS suggested. "The last thing I want is Kate wondering why I'm looking into this."

"Speak of the devil," Dylan commented as he caught sight of the commander making her way to them.

"DCS Smith, a word with you?" Kate said, face devoid of any sort of emotion.

She waited for Dylan to leave before questioning John. "What's this closed case that's got you bothered?"

John tapped his finger on the desk. "Vincent Mayhew's sister said that a man named Davros tried recruiting him into his gang."

"These people do that all the time in case you've forgotten."

"The problem is that I don't think the killer gave a full confession."

Kate furrowed her brows, not quite seeing what her colleague was trying to say.

"Brooks became nervous the moment we asked him who Davros is," John continued. "And he just immediately confessed – it's as if he's afraid of him."

"You think there's a conspiracy?"

"More of a turf war."

Kate sighed. "Again, this sort of thing is their modus operandi."

"I think it's worth looking into who Davros is – we've never heard of him before until now."

The commander thought about a decision for a few moments. "Fine, I'll give you what you need for this but no sneaking around," she said. "If you find something, tell me."

John was taken by surprise. He had expected her to downright tell him to forget about the case. "You think I'm right, don't you?"

"Don't be so smug about it and please keep this a low profile," she muttered before getting to her feet.

"That's what I've been trying to do."

"Not good enough since I'm here," she commented with a smug look. "How's Clara by the way?"

"Fine, she's enjoying the summer break away from her rambunctious students."

Kate flashed him a kind smile. "So I guess you had a great time then, taking that week off?"

"First my team and now you and no comment," John grumbled as his superior left his office. He then checked his phone for any messages.

There was one from none other than Clara.

_'Fancy having lunch with me?'_

John's lips curved upwards. God, he loves this woman.


	14. Chapter 14

**1 Year Later**

"Who else should we invite?" Clara asked as she looked through their list. She sat on the mattress, cross-legged while surrounded by books and catalogues.

"It's up to you," John replied from the en-suite. "I've invited my team and Kate."

"Yes, I forgot my future husband has a small circle of friends," she commented in jest.

"Easier to plan the wedding then."

She giggled before looking down at the catalogues. They were nearly complete with all the planning and all that was left was catering and sorting through the guests. The couple had agreed that they wanted a small wedding and they had estimated about thirty or so guests.

"Come over here and help me decide the food," she called.

John emerged from the bathroom. "You do realise that the wedding is two months from now and you can slow down and unwind a bit, right?"

The wedding was set to be held in late August, just before the summer holiday ends and while he is just as excited as she was, he thought that she deserves a break. The detective couldn't believe how his future bride even managed to sort everything out four months after he proposed!

"Just want to get this done so I don't have to think about it," she reasoned.

He joined her in bed. "We decide on one appetiser and then you can resume planning tomorrow."

"Deal."

He took one look of the menu and swiftly made a decision. "Menu 12," he stated, setting the piece of paper down.

"Really?" she asked, half-surprised. "Just like that?"

John shrugged. "Just like that and besides, food is food, so I doubt that anyone will be complaining if it's good."

The schoolteacher read the menu again and thought that he has a point.

"One decision and off to bed," he reminded her, resting his head on the soft pillow.

"I was actually torn apart between menu 11 and 12, but thank you for helping me with that," she chuckled, finally putting the task to rest. "Eager to get some shut-eye?"

He scrunched his nose. "In case you've forgotten, I have work tomorrow and before I get to the office, I have to drive a certain schoolteacher to her school where her students are excited to learn about Shakespeare, especially Disruptive Influence."

She lied down next to him. "Courtney Woods may be disruptive, but I can assure you she's very bright."

"Soon-to-be Mrs Smith defending her favourite student – shocking!" he muttered sarcastically before scooting closer to her.

"DCS Smith, I believe you said something about sleeping."

John pouted. "Who started this banter, I wonder."

Clara giggled in response, kissing the back of his hand. "Why go along with it?"

He let out a tired groan. They could continue this tomorrow morning.

\--

John ducked under the tape and headed for the spot where several of his team members were gathered. Martha was currently examining the body while Aidan was interviewing a witness.

"Thought you wouldn't show up," the coroner commented as she turned around to face him.

"I was told this had something to do with Davros."

"Bossman," Rena greeted before handing him a bag of evidence. It contained a smartphone which was externally and internally modified. The case bore a symbol of a robot of some sort. John had taken to calling it a pedal bin. What separated the smartphone with the rest is that it was impossible to trace and hack.

"Send it to cybercrime," he stated, shifting his focus back on the victim.

"I don't think they'll be of much help," Rena pointed out.

John considered his options. He knows someone who could very likely help him decrypt the phone, but he decided to try his luck with Scotland Yard first. "See if they have anything new to say about this."

She shrugged. "Ok, then."

"You know, I'm beginning to think you're obsessing over this Davros guy," Martha commented. "Stop it and look forward to your own wedding!"

John flashed her a kind smile. "What makes you think I don't have Clara Oswin inside my head?"

"Never doubted it for a second," Martha muttered. "Anyway, a stab wound to the abdomen killed him," she explained, changing the subject. "He did struggle with the killer, though," she continued, raising the man's arm and showing his fingernails which had a red tint to it.

The detective nodded and made eye contact with Dylan who had been sweeping the area for any clue or evidence. "Paul Enzio, twenty-seven, was last seen delivering a parcel just a mile from here," Dylan explained.

"Where's the van?"

"Just right around the corner," the DCI replied, showing John where the vehicle was located.

By the time he saw the blue and white van, John's heart skipped a beat. "Oz Shipping and Courier."

His mind immediately made the connection to his fiancé's father's company.

"You said something?" Dylan asked even though he could hear John clearly.

"No, I mean, Clara's father owns this company."

The DCI raised his eyebrows. "I guess we'll have no issues getting all the details about our victim."

"He hates me."

Dylan couldn't help but laugh. "The classic girlfriend's dad hates the boyfriend trope – oh, sorry, fiancé."

John glared at his colleague, not appreciating the joke at all. He was sure that Dave would be notified of an employee's death at some point and that he would discover that his daughter's fiancé is on the case. "Why don't you be a helpful friend and phone the company."

Dylan shrugged. "Fine by me."

\--

John tapped his foot impatiently against the floor as he sat in a chair waiting for the CEO to arrive. All he wanted was information but the moment he told the receptionist who he was, she ushered him and Dylan all the way to the top floor.

"Who would have thought that a courier company could do so well," the DCI muttered, looking around the modern and bright office. "You know you've made it when you have one of these fancy coffee machines," he said.

"Where the hell is he?" John grumbled.

At that very moment, Dave Oswald entered his office and greeted the detectives. "I'm sorry we have to meet under such circumstances," he said before gesturing them to sit down. "And sorry to keep you waiting, I was in a meeting which I had to cut short."

"Mr Oswin, we won't take much of your time," John began. "I'm sure you've been informed of what's happened."

"That an employee of mine is a drug dealer and that he was found murdered this morning – yes, I'm well aware of that." Dave murmured. "I'll cooperate in any way I can."

"We need everything on your former employee."

Dave nodded. "Sam will give you Mr Enzio's records," he said. "Is there anything else you'd like to ask or need?"

John and Dylan stood up. "No, that would be all, Mr Oswin," the DCS replied. "Thank you."

Just as he headed for the door, Dylan and Dave locked eyes and Dave nodded. The DCI knew that his priority then was to prevent his superior from finding anything connecting Dave to organised crime.

Once the two men were shut and the doors were firmly shut, Dylan patted John on the shoulder. "Wasn't that bad, was it?"

"No," John admitted.

"Though he's probably just as surprised as anybody else that his future son-in-law showed up at his office and requested files on a deceased employee."

"Records," John grunted as he strode to the secretary's desk.

The moment they got what they were looking for, the detectives headed straight back to Scotland Yard to discuss their findings with the others.

"Paul Enzio was arrested back in 2012 for instigating a fight at a pub," Dylan explained. "Since then, he hasn't had any brushes with the law or at least until now."

"Rena, Aidan, I want the both of you to search his residence," John ordered.

"On it, boss-man," Aidan said, reaching for his belongings before following Rena.

"What do you want me to do?" Dylan asked.

"You've made a few friends from special branch," the DCS commented. "Ask them if they recognise our victim."

\--

Dave Oswald swirled the glass of whiskey he held lazily as he stared blankly at the wall in front of him. What a day he was having. First, his spy is murmured and now his daughter's fiancé is investigating the crime.

He wasn't too worried about John as he trusted Dylan to do whatever was necessary to protect him, but he was a bit shaken by Enzio's death. The man had been under him for nearly a decade and was one of the few who was loyal to him. To discover that his cover was blown was quite the shock.

"You're a difficult man to meet, aren't you?" a voice said shortly before taking the empty seat in front of him.

Dave's face hardened as he finally recognised who it was. Davros.

"Sending someone to spy on me is very rude."

"So is recruiting my men."

Davros smirked. "Why don't we make a deal."

"You murdered him."

The man merely shrugged. "Mr Oswald, you signed his death the moment you asked him to infiltrate my organization," he explained. "I was merely exterminating the pest."

Dave gritted his teeth. "I wouldn't broker a deal with you even if you were the only one left."

"I suggest you hear my proposition first before finalising on your decision."

Dave exhaled through his nose and gestured Davros to continue.

"It's no secret you're attempting to withdraw from the underworld, and I am very much interested in taking over your factions."

Dave Oswald had met Davros several times prior to this. He controlled most of east London which weren't an issue until now that is when he decided that it wasn't enough and heard that he was quitting the game.

"Surrender all your factions to me in exchange for 12 million."

"If you think I'm surrendering all of them to you, you're a fool."

"Hence the reason why I offered."

Dave knew he could get a better deal with his associates and rejected the offer. "I'm keeping my factions for now and the foreseeable future."

Davros merely smiled. "I wonder how this is going to play out if your future son-in-law discovers who you really are."

"My personal matters are none of your concern and I would advise you to keep them out of this."

Davros got to his feet and adjusted his suit jacket. "Think about the offer," he suggested. "My patience has its limit."

"What if I still refuse?"

Davros smiled. "I'm sure I can convince you somehow," he replied before walking away, leaving a very angry man in his wake.

"I will not take kindly to threats," Dave muttered.

"And I don't take kindly to people saying no, good evening Mr Oswald."


	15. Chapter 15

"The only thing we found in the victim's house is a packet of marijuana," John explained to his superior. "His record's been clean since 2009 and there was nothing to indicate that he worked as a drug dealer aside from the smartphone we found."

"I need something more by the end of the week, John," Kate stated. "We know very little about the person he's working for and it's only a bloody name."

"What if I interview Geoffrey Brooks?" the DCS suggested. "He might be able to shed some light into this."

Kate considered it for a few seconds. "I have a feeling that we're being watched," she confessed. "Had it since you started sniffing around asking about Davros."

"You think he's someone powerful too, don't you?"

"Be discreet and do not let anybody follow you, especially those journalists," she cautioned.

"I will."

A few hours later, DCS John Smith sat in the interview room of Pentonville Prison, waiting for the guards to bring him Geoffrey Brooks.

It wasn't until ten minutes later that he was brought in.

"Oh, it's Detective Magician," Brooks muttered when he realised who wanted to see him.

John knitted his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"The coat, fam."

He still didn't understand why he was being referred to as a magician but decided to get straight to the point, nodding at the guards who then left the room.

"What do you want this time?"

"Just need to ask you a few questions."

"About the dead guy?"

The DCS looked up from the file he was about to open.

Geoffrey shrugged. "Word travels fast – Davros is getting more popular these days."

"Which gets him a lot of enemies," John added before producing a photograph. "Do you recognise him?"

The inmate shook his head. "No, never seen him before."

John pursed his lips. He knew that the man in front of him knew something. Anything would do. "Let's not play that game again – just tell me what you know."

Brooks was silent for a moment, staring at the picture before finally looking up. "Rumour's going around saying he was a spy."

"A spy?"

The young man shrugged. "Yeah, I heard people talking saying that he was working for one of the four dragons."

John had been right with his hunch. The Four Dragons is an alliance made up of four members, each controlling their respective factions in London. They were untouchable to put it simply. The Met has very little information on the group. "Where does Davros come in then?"

Geoffrey shrugged. "I just sell drugs, fam – used to."

The detective decided that he had spent enough time interviewing him and collected the photo before closing the file.

"Just a bit of advice for you since you're not that bad of a copper," Geoffrey said. "Davros won't hesitate to kill to get what he wants."

John stared into his eyes, making sure that the young man wasn't messing with him before getting to his feet and knocking on the door.

The two guards who were waiting outside entered and escorted Geoffrey Brooks out of the room.

\-- 

"You must be so excited for the big day," Anna commented. "It's just around the corner."

Clara could only smile in response as she continued to mark her students' assignment.

"To think it all started with that talk last year."

The English teacher chuckled. "He was so close to chickening out and if that did happen, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

"Pretty sure you'd be the one to approach him instead."

While the two teachers were chatting, Danny observed them from his desk. His peace and quiet didn't last long, however, as Mitch rolled his chair next to the maths teacher. "Plenty of fish in the sea."

"Sod off if you trying to rub salt to the wound."

"Look, I know you've had a thing for Miss Oswin there since the first day you came here and I don't blame you one bit, but don't you think it's time to move on?"

Danny lowered his head. "Easier said than done."

"How about a boys' night, eh?"

At the mention of this, the former soldier laughed. "Watching you attempting to flirt unsuccessfully is entertainment on its own."

"I'm just going to pretend you didn't say that," Mitch muttered. "Come on, it'll be fun, and you might actually get lucky."

As much as Danny didn't want to go, his colleague has a point and he was sure that Clara would be busy planning her wedding, so the detective would surely be with her.

"It's on me."

"Fine, fine," the maths teacher said defeatedly. "We'll go to the pub, but only for a few drinks."

Mitch patted his shoulder. "I knew I could count on you, mate!"

The moment the two teachers got to the pub later that day, Danny started regretting his decision. It was busier than usual and hence, a lot noisier than he would have liked it.

While Mitch went off to talk to someone, Danny headed straight for the bar and ordered his drink.

Just when he thought his day couldn't get any worse, he was greeted by the sight of Dylan Clarkson sitting in the empty chair next to him. He had only met the man, what, three or four times. They barely exchanged a few words.

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Clara's with Smith if that's what you're wondering."

Dylan pretended to mind his own business and casually took a sip of his drink. "Dave wants you to follow her."

"Christ, if this is about Smith-"

"Davros dropped by at the club a few nights ago."

Danny lowered the shot he was holding.

The DCI smirked. "Caught your attention now, have I?"

"He's not going after her, is he?" Danny asked, feeling a bubble of fear slowly rising up his chest. Maybe he should have followed her as instructed by his boss.

The detective's expression remained stoic. "He's killed two people so far to catch the boss' attention, so I don't think he'll hesitate to hurt Clara if it comes to that," he explained. It also doesn't help that John has been trying to dig up information on Davros.

"It's difficult to watch over her when she's at Smith's home," Danny stated. "The best I can do is stay in the car."

"Just keep doing what you're doing for now," Dylan advised, downing his drink before placing money underneath the glass and leaving.

Danny made a mental note to look for Mitch once he's finished his scotch. He'll have to leave early.

\-- 

"And just like that, our wedding plans are complete," Clara declared as she shut the binder and setting it down on the floor next to the bed frame.

"Two hours of sorting through guest invitations is fun, we should do this more often," John grumbled sarcastically. He then felt a pair of lips land on his left cheek.

"Thanks for helping," she murmured.

A small smile played on his lips. "You're very welcome, Clara Oswin."

Her lips curved upward for only a brief second. The rational part of her brain reasoned that now would be the time to tell him the truth. She's been putting it off longer than she anticipated.

John examined her face. "You look happy and sad at the same time."

"What?" she laughed. "No, you're just imagining it."

"Lips pouting slightly and eyes inflating," he added. "You're not thinking about the case involving your father's company, are you?"

That was something that had been on her mind too. "Yeah, I still can't believe he was murmured," she said, careful not to let slip that she knew more than him. "It's horrible what happened to him."

John leaned against the pillows. "It's more than just a gang war."

She was surprised that he was openly discussing the case with her, well, more than he would usually let on. "What makes you say that?"

"There's evidence of it, though not that strong to support my theory."

Clara didn't quite get what he was talking about. She knew it had something to do with her father's factions and that someone was trying to steal them from him. "What are you going to do to prove your theory?"

John shrugged. "I don't know," he confessed. "The person I interviewed refused to testify in court and we have nothing on the killer."

She reached for his hand under the covers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

He glanced at her. "How was your day?"

"Same old, same old," the schoolteacher said. "Kids are happy that their GCSEs and A-Level exams are finally over."

"I guess that would mean soon-to-be Mrs Smith has time to relax and spend time with this old idiot."

"For the last time, you are not old, so stop saying it."

John arched a brow. "What about the idiot bit?"

She smirked. "You're my idiot," she murmured, switching off the lights.

At around midnight, Clara was rustled from her sleep. She wasn't sure why and she lied down next to John, his breathing soothing her, but the thought that something wasn't right just wouldn't go away.

Slowly, she climbed out of bed and tip-toed to the window. She looked around the empty street before her eyes landed on the vehicle parked right in front of John's car. She recognised one of the men. It was Danny.

She could see that the driver finally noticed them, and he immediately nudged the former soldier awake. "Shit, I think she saw us."

Danny was roused from his sleep and blinked twice before he finally understood what the man was talking about. Without hesitation, he stepped out and locked eyes with her.

"Clara?" John groaned, lifting his head slightly.

She immediately whirled around and made her way back to bed. "Sorry, just thought I heard something."

"Probably that stray cat fighting with another stray cat," he muttered just as she got under the covers.

"Yeah, probably."

By now, he was almost fully awake. "Do you want me to check outside?"

She pushed him back down. "Don't be silly – I was just about to go to sleep."

John grunted before he rested his head back on the pillow.

Clara couldn't have been more relieved that he was exhausted. Otherwise, she was sure he would have insisted on checking the entire house. She scooted closer to the man sleeping next to her and hid her face in the crook of his neck.

She was determined to get to the bottom of the issue the very next morning. Whatever is her father up to now?


	16. Chapter 16

"Danny, could I have a word with you?" Clara said as she stood next to his desk. It was lunchtime and that meant most of the staff were having lunch and had emptied the teacher's lounge. It was the perfect opportunity to talk to her bodyguard.

Danny knew he was going to get grilled the moment she caught him and his colleague watching over her the previous night. He might as well get swallowed by the ground at this point. "Right," he answered, getting to his feet.

They headed for the end of the corner.

"Would you mind explaining what you were doing in front of John's house last night?"

"Orders from your father, to put it simply," he replied. "Davros met him at the club a few nights ago and he's adamant on getting those factions."

"What did he say?"

"I'm not sure, but the boss has been paranoid about your safety since, so I'm guessing he must have threatened to hurt you."

Clara crossed her arms. "Are you sure he's not being his usual paranoid-self?"

"No, I think the threat is real."

Clara lowered her arms. If it was as serious as Danny implied it was, then she has no choice but to go with it. "He knows where I live then?"

Danny couldn't say for certain. "I think he knows that you're the boss' daughter, but beyond that, I'm not sure, but it's better to assume he does."

"Of course."

"He's also suggested adding a few other security measures."

"Any more of those night car patrols and John will start asking questions."

The former soldier nodded. "Which is why I think it's best if you stay in your flat for the time being, at least until we're sure your safety isn't compromised."

As much as she hated what she was hearing, she understood the seriousness of the situation. "I haven't stayed in my flat for a week now," she said. She knew it wouldn't be difficult to convince John to stay at hers. They always took turns anyway. "What do you mean by other security measures?"

"You'll be assigned extra bodyguards," he revealed. "One will be in the flat below yours and another a few doors away."

"For as long as they stay out of my way, we won't have any issues."

Danny nodded in acknowledgement. "There is one more thing which requires your consent."

Clara furrowed her eyebrows.

"Dave thinks it's a good idea to install a panic button somewhere in your flat, just in case anything happens."

She sighed in defeat. "Will the living room do?" she asked. "You can hide it in the bookshelf."

"Bookshelf it is."

As much as Clara hates the current predicament she's under, she could hardly blame her father for it. She understood what it meant to be the daughter of a drug lord. More lies and more secrets to keep from her fiancé. "Wait, is this going to affect my wedding?"

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat, completely taken by surprise by her question. "I… I'm not sure."

She brushed it off. "I'll speak to dad myself about it."

\-- 

"I have yet to identify anyone who may have leaked your identity," the man in the grey suit said as he sat opposite of Dave, cutting his steak. "It could have been one of yours for all you know."

Dave pursed his lips. "The issue here is that there are very few people who know my identity," he stated. "So, it's either you three or someone in the higher echelons of my group."

"You're not accusing us, are you?" the man questioned calmly. "Frankly, that's quite insulting."

"If I suspected you of doing that, we wouldn't be here now would we?"

Andrew Yang smirked. "All I could gather on this Davros is that he frequents that new club, Skaro."

"I find it hard to believe we know so little about him," Dave complained. He had a feeling that the traitor was someone amongst them, though he was confident that Andrew wasn't as he wasn't that interested in any of the factions Dave offered when he suggested he was quitting the game.

"Have you talked to Kieran and Julia?"

"No, not yet," Dave revealed. "I wanted to at least control the damage first before I make any moves."

Andrew leaned back against the cushioned seat. "How's that future son-in-law of yours?" he asked amusingly. "Still in charge of the case?"

"Unfortunately."

He chuckled. "Just your luck, I guess."

"Yes," Dave grumbled. "There's every type of man out there and she decides that a detective is the best choice for her."

"Far from the happy father, I see."

He sighed defeatedly. "I don't like him, but I respect her choice and she does seem happy."

"Sounds to me like you'll be expecting grandchildren in the future."

Dave was surprised by the comment as that wasn't a topic that he thought about at all. Grandkids. He was sure Clara would want to have a child at least. He looked down to hide the smile playing on his lips. "Whatever makes her happy."

"Oh, I'm sure the child will melt that cold, cold heart of yours."

Dave cleared his throat and shifted the conversation to a different subject. "I think we should have a meeting with the rest soon, just to discuss the current issue."

Andrew nodded. "Of course, though it will probably take a while before we can actually all come together since Julia is holidaying in Canada."

Just as Dave was about to speak, his phone vibrated, and he raised it slightly to check who was calling. Clara. "Would you mind excusing me for a moment?" he murmured before standing up and heading over to a quiet corner. "Clara," he greeted warmly.

"Hi, dad," she replied, sounding a bit unhappy.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, fine, it's just that I've been told that I'm in danger, so not a big deal," she said sarcastically. "And that I have to hide in my flat."

"I just need you to stay there for a week or two," Dave explained calmly. "I'm not taking any chances with Davros."

"You and John are the same," she sighed.

Dave knitted his eyebrows.

"He's just as worried about this Davros guy."

Dave's shoulders sank. "Your safety is my priority," he assured. "Nothing will happen to you."

"I'm not worried about myself, dad."

He cleared his throat. "I have to go, Clara, but we'll talk soon," he murmured. "How's John?"

She chuckled. "This is the first time you're asking about him."

He bit his tongue. At least she sounds a bit more cheerful now. "First time for everything."

"He's working hard catching bad guys and solving crime," she stated. "Typical of him."

"That's good," Dave said before he locked eyes with Henry. "Right, I really have to go now, take care."

"You too, dad."

\-- 

"Is there a reason why you're so eager to go back to your place?" John asked as he trained his eyes on the busy road. "My house too boring for you?" he joked.

"One, your house is not boring and two, I miss my flat," she explained, grinning. "You do realise that I've spent more time at your place than my own since the past few months, right?"

"Ah, so it's a case of homesickness, then?"

"Well, I do miss my books," she said lamely. God, that sounded like a pathetic excuse.

A few minutes later, they finally reached their destination. Once they had settled in at her flat, she came up with the idea to send John off to the Tesco express nearby.

"What if they don't have your cookies?" he inquired.

"Then just get me the doughnuts."

"If they don't have those?"

"A Twix will do," she concluded, leading him to the door.

The schoolteacher watched him disappear down the staircase to buy the groceries and once she was sure he wouldn't be returning because he forgot his wallet or ask the type of Twix she wanted, Clara sent a text to Danny.

A minute later, he appeared along with two other men whom she recognised were her father's own bodyguards.

"Miss Oswald."

She stepped outside to let them in.

"Do what you have to do and do it quickly," she instructed as they set down the backpacks they were carrying.

One of the men went over to the bookshelf and began looking for any small space discreet enough to install the panic button while the other went to the kitchen to set up the second one.

Danny, on the other hand, did a sweep of the entire flat, searching for any hidden devices or microphones.

No more than five minutes later, Danny emerged from inside. "All clear," he stated. "I just need to show you where and how the panic button works."

Clara followed him and was led to the bookshelf first.

"The button is hidden above this Jane Austen book here," he revealed and pointing at the black device. "You just have to press it once to activate it and it will immediately ring our phones," he continued before pressing it. A second later, three distinct ringing tones could be heard.

The former soldier then guided her to the kitchen.

"The second one is hidden underneath the kitchen counter."

Clara nodded in acknowledgement. "Right, thank you guys," she said, nodding at them.

Her bodyguards then left, shuffling out of the tiny flat in a hurry before her fiancé returned.

When John finally reached the flat, he felt as if something was off. There was just something about the living room that didn't look quite right to him.

"What are you staring at?" Clara asked amusedly, leaning against the doorframe of the bedroom.

He turned around to look at her. "Did you move anything?"

She nodded to the bookshelf. "Tilted it slightly to the left," she answered. "Thought it might look good that way."

The DCS faced the bookshelf again and looked at it closely before shrugging. "Makes sense," he murmured before heading to the kitchen.

Clara sagged her shoulders and couldn't have been more grateful he didn't push the matter further.

"Are you sure everything's ok?" he asked, approaching her with a concerned look. "You're doing those eyes again."

She couldn't tell him the truth, but she couldn't lie to him either. "Just nervous and excited, I guess," she said quietly. "I just want everything to be perfect."

John grabbed her hand. "You're asking for the impossible, Clara Oswin," he whispered. "Knowing our luck, things will be slightly chaotic, in a good way that is."

She smiled. A genuine one this time. "Sounds like my kind of adventure."


	17. Chapter 17

Dave Oswald watched as his daughter was handed a bouquet of flowers, dressed in her wedding gown. Today is the big day. Today is the day his daughter is getting married.

"You look lovely," he commented, beaming.

"Thanks," she murmured before looking at the mirror.

Dave felt his heartstrings being pulled. She looks so much like her mother. Ellie would be proud. He knew she would be happy that their daughter is getting married and to a good man, too. Something he wished he was. Maybe he wouldn't have hated John if he didn't choose this life. Maybe he would have showered his daughter with the love she deserves. "Your mother would be very proud," he said. "I can just imagine the look on her face if she was here."

A sad smile played on the bride's lips. She really wished her mum was still alive to see her today.

"Right, we just need to fix the hair a bit and we're ready to go," the stylist said as she adjusted Clara's hair.

Dave nodded in acknowledgement before deciding to wait outside to give his daughter space. In a few minutes, he would be walking her down to the altar. Never had he felt so nervous in his life and he had been in far worse situations, but nothing compared to this.

As much as he disliked John, he was happy that his daughter is marrying the man she loves. The feeling only grew stronger when he walked her down the aisle, to her husband-to-be.

It was ironic, however, that Dylan is the best man.

As the ceremony began, Dave took his seat next to Linda in the front row and observed the couple. What would it mean for the future now that John is a part of the family? A family full of secrets.

The couple exchanged vows and Dave shifted in his seat, his eyes darting back and forth between the two. There were so many times he tried to convince himself that the detective doesn't love his daughter and that it was all part of a conspiracy to arrest him and shut his operation down, but he couldn't convince himself. Not when it was clear that they love each other very much.

What bothered him, however, is the fact that John is still very much unaware of Clara's true identity. He wanted to feel hopeful that by the time the detective finds out about it, the marriage would end, but no, instead, he's worried of how it might affect his daughter and the couple's relationship. He could only hope that the detective takes the news well when the time came.

"I now pronounce you man and wife – you may kiss the bride."

John cupped Clara's face with his left hand, the wedding band flashing brightly, and captured her lips.

The guests erupted into a fit of cheering, clapping and whistling.

"I can't believe I got to witness the idiot getting his happy ending," Donna cried, wiping a tear that rolled down her cheek. "We really did a number on him."

Dave chuckled, unable to help himself from overhearing her comment. He then noticed that his wife had been quieter than usual since they arrived. "You ok?"

Linda nodded. "Yes, of course," she replied. "I'm just making the effort not to cause a scene, according to your own words."

"It's Clara's special day."

"I wouldn't have said anything even if you didn't assume that I would be callous enough to ruin her wedding," she hissed before standing up to join the guests for a photo-op.

Dave watched her leave his side to join the group gathered in the garden. Without much thought, he got to his feet, forcing a smile as he passed a few of Clara's colleagues.

"You might want to ask those bodyguards of yours to stop touching their ears every five seconds," Vastra whispered to the father of the bride. "It's getting too obvious."

"Are you sure it's not just your MI5 training kicking in?"

"I wouldn't be pointing it out to you if I wasn't sure."

"They're new recruits, but thank you," he said before standing next to his daughter.

"On one," the photographer announced, holding up his hand. "Two, three!"

\-- 

"I don't think I've ever felt so happy and tired at the same time," Clara groaned, emerging from the bathroom in her pyjamas.

John was still dressed in a suit, only having taken off his jacket. He had rolled up the sleeves and had popped a few buttons. "I don't think I can feel my legs," he muttered as he sat down before browsing through the room service menu.

She giggled. "I stepped on your foot once by accident during the entire dance," she murmured, wrapping her arms him from the back. She kissed the back of his ear.

"That and my ears are still reeling from all the nagging from Donna – 'fix your hair', 'your shoelaces aren't tied properly you skinny alien'."

She kissed his other ear. "Better?"

"Wasn't the point, but yes," he said, putting the menu away and fully focusing his attention on his wife. "Thank you, Mrs Smith."

His eyes trailed from her brown eyes down to her nose and finally, her lips. He leaned forward and planted a soft kiss as she returned the gesture.

\-- 

"Still think you being best man is a joke," Danny muttered, downing his drink.

"Look, the guy doesn't have a lot of friends," Dylan explained. "And we've been working together for almost two years now, so clearly it was me or Aidan."

The two men were at the hotel bar, having a late-night drink after the day's event. Attending the wedding was one thing and securing the building was another.

"You two seem to be enjoying yourselves," a voice commented.

Both men looked over their shoulder and were greeted by Dave's sombre face.

"Ah, boss-man," Dylan said. "Care to join us?"

Dave silently took his seat next to the DCI and ordered his drink from the bartender.

"Couldn't sleep, boss?"

He shrugged, preferring to be quiet rather than going through the trouble of explaining his fight with Linda. "What brings you two here?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Danny here needed a mate and I was more than happy to oblige."

Dave nodded. "You two deserve it after taking care of Clara."

"It's part of the job, sir," Danny replied.

"Something else bothering you, Dave?" Dylan enquired, sensing that his boss had something else on his mind.

"I just find it strange that Davros has been quiet," he stated. "No surprise visits, no taunts, nothing."

Dylan and Danny exchanged looks, realising that Dave was right. Something was bound to burst the bubble.

"I'll go to the security room," Dylan announced, drink completely forgotten.

"Pink, sweep through the entire floor," Dave ordered discreetly so as to avoid other people from overhearing their conversation.

"Yes sir," the former soldier said, striding out of the bar in determination.

He did what he was told, checking the entire floor of where Clara was located. As he walked past the suite she was in, he spotted a door leading to the staircase and decided to see if there was anybody lurking around. Danny pushed the door and looked around. "Floor's clear," he said to the earpiece.

"Yeah, everything checks out," Dylan agreed, watching multiple CCTV feeds through the monitors. "Staircase is a blind-spot, so I can't see you."

"How about now?" Danny asked as he stepped into view.

"Just half of you," the DCI replied. "We could install another CCTV facing the staircase, so it shouldn't be an issue."

Danny was about to speak when he caught sight of a member of the hotel staff in his line of sight, pushing a cart. He immediately took out his smartphone and pretended to text someone, head down and stood in front of a room.

"Did they order room service?" the former soldier whispered.

It took Dylan a few seconds to get back to him. "Yep, fish fingers about twenty-minutes ago," he stated. "Might do the same later."

The waiter knocked on the door twice before it was answered by Clara dressed in a bathrobe.

"Make sure she doesn't see you."

"What do you think I'm doing?" Danny muttered through gritted teeth.

"Have a good evening, Mr and Mrs Smith," the waiter said with a smile, happy to have received a big tip, before shutting the door.

Once the employee headed in the opposite direction, Danny looked up. "I guess you can tell the boss he has nothing to worry about."

"It'll be like talking to a wall," Dylan grunted. "Right, mate, I'm going to call it a night since I'm sure the missus and Charlie will be wondering where I am."

"Heading to the security room," Danny said, taking the staircase. He went down a floor and produced a key card to the junior suite, tapping it against the doorknob before the green light flashed.

"Evan and Will have it under control," Dylan explained. "Though I'm sure these two could use a fresh pair of eyes."

"Night-shift starts in half an hour, so the next group will be here soon," Will explained.

Danny nodded before taking a seat. "I'll just stick around until then."

Evan shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"I'm out, boys," Dylan announced before leaving.

The three men continued to monitor the feed, attempting to spot anything suspicious or out of the ordinary as their boss had instructed.

By the time the night-shift group arrived, Danny was certain that his boss was just being his paranoid self.

Clara was safe and that was all that mattered to him. Everything is going to turn out fine.

\-- 

**Three Months Later**

Clara stared at the stick she held in her hand with a wide grin. Finally. After three months of trying, they finally got their wish! She couldn't have been more ecstatic. She rushed out of the bathroom and checked the time on the wall clock. John would be home in an hour.

She considered phoning him and haring the news at the very moment but decided against it. She could wait for an hour. She could pass the time by marking her students' homework. Oh, who was she kidding?

Clara clutched the pregnancy test to her chest. She was on cloud nine.

By the time her husband returned home, he looked as if he was ready to sleep for the next two days.

"I'm guessing you had an eventful day?" she teased.

John sunk further into the sofa. "Chasing suspects is just the beginning," he muttered tiredly. "What was even worse was the stupid annual progress report meeting."

She kissed his cheek, running her fingers through his curls. "Then I guess what I'm about to say will make you feel a bit better."

He shot her a curious look.

"I'm pregnant."

John's eyes grew wider as the realisation sunk in. "Pregnant?"

She produced the test.

He sat up straight. "When-" he asked excitedly.

"When I got back from school."

John placed a hand on her stomach. "I can't believe it."

"Neither can I at first," she giggled. "But we are having a baby!"

He leaned forward and kissed her. He was going to become a father. While the milestone came in a bit later than he had expected, he wasn't complaining. "Have you told anyone else or am I the first to know?"

"You're the first, detective."

John held his wife's hand. "We should have a mini celebration."

"You read my mind," she murmured, beaming as she squeezed his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brace yourselves, folks.


	18. Chapter 18

Clara shifted in her sleep, the feeling of something or rather, someone was missing. She rolled to her side and extended an arm but was greeted by an empty bed.

A moment later, her husband emerged from the en-suite. "I was about to get ready for work but then I thought to hell with it," he said. "I'm spending the day with my pregnant wife."

She frowned, processing his words as her mind as still clouded by sleep. By the time she understood what he meant, she smiled and patted the empty spot next to her. "No, wait, just stand there and let me admire you for a moment."

The bliss moment didn't last very long, however, as the glass window shattered, a bullet whizzing past her husband and he ducked by instinct.

John's first thought was Clara and he crawled to her quickly before pulling her down to him as he shielded her from the shards of glass were flying everywhere.

Several more gunshots were heard before the sound of a speeding car was heard and then there was complete and total silence. A second later, a car was heard speeding, leaving the echo of a roaring engine.

The only thing John could hear was the sound of his wife breathing heavily. Her eyes her wide with fear and shock and she was shaking. "Clara," he whispered. "Clara, look at me."

He said her name again and she finally snapped back to reality.

"You're not hurt, right?" he asked, checking to make sure she wasn't injured. If something happened to her or the baby…

She shook her head, still unable to speak from the shock.

He slowly guided her to a sitting position, leaning her against the wall. "It's over," he whispered, attempting to comfort her.

Her eyes trailed from his face down to his left arm as she noticed a red spot on the sleeve of his shirt. "John," she said, fearing the worst as she extended a shaky hand to inspect the wound.

He looked down, only just realising that one of the bullets grazed him. "It's nothing serious – just a graze – don't look at it."

Clara couldn't help herself. This was her fault. Her husband was shot at because of her.

"Clara."

She locked eyes with him again.

"I'm still here," he stated. "I'm still alive," he added, raising her hand and placed it on his chest, above his beating heart.

Sirens could be heard in the background but neither of them acknowledged it.

"Can you stand?"

His wife nodded as he helped her to her feet, wrapping an arm around her. She leaned against him, making sure that he was indeed there with her. She wished that this was just all one horrible dream, one that she desperately wanted to wake up from.

Her father had been right about the threats. He had been right to worry about her and she took her safety lightly.

"I think the police are here," her husband murmured, slowly guiding her to the staircase.

"John," she managed.

"Yes?"

"This is my fault," she confessed, voice cracking. "This is all my fault."

He knitted his eyebrows, not quite understanding why she was blaming herself when she had nothing to do with what happened. He pinned it down to the shock. "Clara, this has nothing to do with you – you are the last person I would blame."

"No, no, you don't understand."

He kissed her head. "Please, just don't do this to yourself, to me."

"I should have-"

"Metropolitan Police!" a police officer announced from downstairs.

\-- 

"We're obtaining CCTV footage of the vehicle as we speak, boss," Dylan said as he stood in front of John who was being treated by a paramedic. "We'll get them."

John didn't quite listen to what his colleague had said as his eyes were dead set on his wife just a few feet away. There was nothing more important to him at the moment than his wife and baby. "Get it faster."

"We're going as fast as we can, boss."

"Mrs Wilkshire said she saw a black vehicle speeding past her house after the shooting," Rena revealed as she joined the group. "She only managed to remember the first two digits of the plate – DW," she added. "Aidan's interviewing the final witness."

"It's a start," John grunted as the paramedic finished treating the wound.

"You're as good as new, DCS."

"Thank you," John said before hurrying over to his wife.

Clara had her arms wrapped around herself, sitting in the back of Dylan's car. "What happens now?"

She sat next to her before reaching for her hand and grasping it gently. "We're going to take you to a safe house," he began.

"What about you?" she added, worried that they might be separated.

He flashed her a kind smile. "By you, I meant us," he told her. "I'll always be with you, Clara."

She nodded, feeling relieved at the reassurance. "How long do we have to stay there?"

This was the part he found difficult to explain. For the time being, they were going to be whisked away from their family and friends and he couldn't say how long, but definitely in the foreseeable future. "Until it's safe for us to return home."

"I haven't called dad," she revealed. "I need to tell him about this, about us expecting."

John placed a hand on her stomach. "You can call him once we've moved into the safe house."

Clara's shoulders sank. The guilt was eating her, and she desperately wanted to tell him the truth. She felt him tuck a few strands of her hair behind her ear.

"I promise that no harm will come to you or the baby," he whispered with determination. "I will find whoever did this."

She rested her head on his shoulder, shutting her eyes for a brief moment and silently praying that this was all just a dream.

"On the bright side, we're becoming parents," he pointed out, hoping that the topic will at least get her mind off the shooting.

"The baby is very lucky to have you as its father."

"Likewise," he replied.

"Boss, if you're ready, I can drive you to the safe now right now," Dylan said, awaiting further instructions.

Clara lifted her head. "What about our belongings?"

"I've already packed the essentials," her husband told her. "I'll come back to get the rest once you're settled in."

Dylan went over to the other side of the car and climbed into the driver's seat. He made eye contact with Clara through the rear-view mirror before stepping on the accelerator, heading to their destination.

\-- 

Dylan stared at the number he was about to phone, thumb hovering over the green button on the screen. This was probably one of the most difficult things he had to do in his entire career.

He tapped the green phone icon before placing the phone next to his ear. It rang for a second or two before the person on the other end answered.

"What is it, Dylan?"

"Clara's been moved to a safe house," the DCI began. "A car drove past the house this morning and started shooting at it."

"What?!" Dave roared on the other end, causing Dylan to wince.

"She's fine, boss," the detective continued. "Just shaken after the incident."

"Are you sure she wasn't hurt?" Dave inquired worriedly.

"No, sir, Smith was quick to get her out of harm's way."

Dylan could hear Dave's breathing slowing down a bit. "Her phone is switched off and will remain so until she's moved out, so I will try to get her new number as soon as I can."

As much as Dave was glad and relieved to hear that his daughter is fine, he was cross that Davros would have the guts to threaten him like this. "Send me updates every hour and is it possible to have our men close by?"

"I'll see what I can do about that."

"Where was Pink during this?"

"The shooting happened two minutes after the bodyguards left, boss," Dylan revealed. "They've been watching us this whole time."

"I want the identity of the shooters."

"Yes, sir."

Dave hung up and pursed his lips. There was only one thing left to do as he searched for a name in his contact list.

"Henry, how soon can we meet?" he asked. "I have a deal for you."

\-- 

John still couldn't shake off the feeling that his wife was blaming herself for what happened. He had insisted that the bullet graze was nothing more than a flesh wound, yet her eyes were still full of guilt and misery.

"You need to stop blaming yourself," he said, sitting next to her on the mattress. "I really don't understand why you're doing this to yourself."

Clara shut her eyes and shook her head. Where would she even start?

"Are you going to be ok while I'm gone?" he asked gently. "Kate sent the best of the best from Special Branch so there's nothing for you to worry about."

"That's not what's on my mind," she confessed. "John, there's something I should have told you."

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Before I say it, I love you," she breathed. "And that I was just afraid of how you would react – I was selfish."

"Clara, you're not making any sense."

She grabbed both his hands. "This is something I've been wanting to tell you for quite some time – it should have been addressed when we got serious."

John could feel his heart beating faster and faster, fearing the worst. Was his wife ill? Is that what's been plaguing her mind? "Clara, whatever it is you're about to say, whatever it may be, at the end of the day, I have a duty of care."

She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. "My family name isn't Oswin."

John shot her a confused look.

"It's Oswald."

"My father is one of the four dragons," she continued. "I promise you that I have nothing to do with his criminal organization – I didn't want to be a part of it, and he didn't want me to," she added. "It was also actually the reason why I lived with my aunt back then."

John processed her words carefully, not uttering a single word, his face devoid of any emotion.

"John," she called, squeezing his hands, expecting the worst. "I was an idiot and coward for not being honest sooner."

He blinked. "I don't know what to say," he spoke, freeing his hands from hers and getting to his feet.

Clara fought back the tears as she could see how broken and betrayed her husband looked. "The shooting may have had something to do with my father's rivalry with Davros."

John ran a hand through his hair. This was far too much for him. First the shooting and now this. "I have to go," was all he said before leaving the bedroom and shutting the door in a hurry.

Clara could only sit in despair, eyes red and puffy. Things were never going to be the same ever again.


	19. Chapter 19

"Honestly, Dave," Henry commented as he entered the cigar lounge. "You need to calm down a bit," he advised. "You look as if you're ready to murder someone with your bare hands."

Dave remained silent as his eyes were hard and cold. "My Hounslow faction in exchange for information on Davros."

Henry sighed before he took the empty seat in front of his friend. "I know," he said. "Why do you think I'm here?" he added before reaching into the pocket of his suit and producing a thumb drive. "It took me a great deal to get this, so Hounslow is more than fair."

Dave nodded.

"How is your daughter?"

"Shaken, as you might imagine, though from what I've been told, it's more due to her husband being shot."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "He's not seriously injured, I hope."

"No, just a bullet graze."

Henry set the USB device on the table before pushing it forward. "Here's my part of the deal."

"Hounslow is yours."

"I think I know how he was able to get your identity and unfortunately, the rest of us too."

Dave reached for the thumb drive, surprised that the rest of the members were possibly also compromised. "What makes you say that?"

"Davros paid a visit two nights ago and offered me several of your factions in exchange for my cooperation," Henry revealed. "He knew who we were since the very beginning."

"He's after me because he knows I'm retiring."

"And wants the rest of us to follow suit."

Dave pursed his lips. As much as he trusted Henry, he had to be cautious of his old friend now. "You mentioned something about him discovering our identity earlier."

Henry nodded. "He used to be a computer genius – hacked every website he could get his hands on, but MI5 caught on to him when he tried to hack their database, hence how I got his credentials."

"Thank you."

Henry then stood up. "I said no."

"Sorry?"

"When he offered to work together, I said no."

Dave smirked. "I dread to think what would happen if you had agreed to his terms."

\-- 

"Boss, it's getting late," Aidan commented as he stood in the corridor of his superior's office. He and Rena had debated whether they should remind their boss to return home and since neither of them wanted to face their superior when he was cross, they flipped a coin and he had come out as the loser.

"You're the third person to say that," John muttered as he perused through the report from earlier in the morning.

"You do realise that we can handle it from here, right?" Rena added from her desk. "We're searching for the car, we have CCTV footage and a partial number plate," she assured. "You should go home and rest."

John paused and considered his options. He could stay in the office all night and get to nowhere or he could go back to the safehouse to his wife. He wanted nothing more than to do that but the news that she broke to him made him question everything about them, especially their relationship and marriage.

Was she ever going to tell him the truth had this never happened? Why had she waited so long?

"I will."

An hour before midnight, John finally reached the safehouse. He was greeted by two officers who were sitting in the living room.

"How is she?"

The officers exchanged looks before one of them spoke. "She hasn't left the room, sir."

Surprised, he pressed further. "You mean she never left the room after I was gone?"

Both officers shook their heads. "She even refused to eat, so we left some snacks by the door."

At the mention of this, he felt as if his heart sink. "Thank you."

"Sir."

Without another word, John headed upstairs and stood outside the bedroom, contemplating on what he should say or do. To hell with it. He pushed the door as quietly as he could and was greeted by a dimly lit room, his wife sleeping on the bed, or at least it looked that way. At second glance, he could tell she was still awake. Her body was far too tensed to be asleep.

Suddenly, he had lost the ability to speak, the morning's conversation playing in his head over and over again. The pain was still fresh and raw.

John took off his coat and tossed it on the armchair before emptying his pockets and placing the items on the drawer next to him. He glanced at Clara every now and then.

A quick shower would do the trick to get him to reflect and think clearly and he entered the en-suite.

Clara wasn't sure what kept her from speaking to John. She concluded that it was mostly due to shame. He had every right to be angry with her, but she wanted nothing more than for him to assure her that everything was going to be alright.

After some time, she heard the door open and shifted a bit, wondering if her husband was ever going to speak to her.

She felt the mattress dip as he took his side of the bed before hearing a click and the lamp switched off, blanketing the room in darkness.

"John?"

"Yes."

"Please say something, anything," she said.

He was silent for a moment. "I honestly do not know what to say."

"I'm sorry," she apologised, looking over her shoulder. "I know I betrayed your trust."

Silence.

"John-"

"You betrayed my trust, you betrayed our relationship and you betrayed everything I've ever stood for," he spat only realising after that he had raised his voice. He could have sworn he heard her flinch.

A sniff was heard, and he wanted to kick himself for getting her into such a state. He remained where he was. Half of him wanted to let her cry while the other half wanted to comfort her.

"Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?" John murmured, tone gentle and calmer.

"What?" she gasped, rolling around to face him.

John let out a tired sigh. He was glad that it was dark, otherwise, he would have faltered seeing those eyes of hers. "I told you before that I love you, criminal or not and that includes being the daughter of a drug lord," he reminded his wife. "I meant every single word."

Clara was still hesitant to move closer and remained where she was. "I don't deserve a husband like you."

John shook his head. "Clara, I'm terribly sorry, but I'm exactly what you deserve."

He assumed that that was the end of the conversation and searched for her hand under the covers.

"What happens now?"

"What do you mean?"

She felt him caress the back of her hand. "To us, to… everything."

"I'm not leaving you if that's what you're worried about, Clara," he assured her. "I suppose it will take some getting used to the truth," he added.

"I understand."

"I just have a question for you and please be honest."

She had a feeling that she knew what it was but decided to wait until he spoke.

"Were you ever going to tell me the truth?"

She paused for a moment to think of her answer thoroughly. "I wanted to tell you so many times," she confessed. "I was so close... so many times, but I… just couldn't."

"Why?"

"I was afraid you'd leave."

John shook his head. "I do believe it's the other way around," he murmured. "Why get stuck with an old man like me and for the record, I don't think I could leave you if I wanted to."

"For the last time, stop calling yourself an old man," Clara grumbled. "You're slightly older than me- big deal."

Her husband hummed in response.

There was still one more thing she needed to tell him to clear her conscience. No more secrets between them after this. "Theirs is one more thing you should know."

"What's that?"

"One of my father's men works for you."

"Dylan?" he guessed.

"How did you-"

John shifted before settling into a more comfortable position. "He was acting strange this morning and looked very concerned for you – thought it was because you used to babysit his son."

"He's like the big brother I've never had, so please don't go too hard on him," she requested. "As far as I know, his only job is to supply information to my dad, nothing more."

"That's something we'll have to discuss another time," he replied, too tired to think about it deeply.

She felt him move his other hand to her stomach. "They told me you haven't eaten anything all day."

"I just didn't have the appetite and I know it's selfish, but I just couldn't," she told him, remembering the nauseating feeling she had when she tried eating the pastry the policeman gave her.

"Could you do it for your sake and the baby's?" he asked. "You can tell them to get whatever you want."

"I think I can manage that."

He scooted closer but kept some distance between them. "Thank you," he whispered. "For being honest and for giving me the chance to become a father… I never got to say that to you yesterday."

She wrapped her arms around him and hid her face in his chest. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "How did you manage today?"

"Partial number plate and CCTV are the main lead," he revealed. "I will find Davros."

"I know you will and I'm sure dad can help you."

"Did you manage to call him?" John asked, changing the subject.

Clara pursed her lips. She had phoned her father thrice and all she got back was a text message from him asking if she was alright and that he was searching for Davros. "No, but I did receive a text from him, a very long one– said he'll call me as soon as he can."

Her husband grunted in response, eyes drooping. He could feel exhaustion finally catching up to him.

"How's your arm?" she inquired, gently caressing the white gauze with her fingers.

"Slightly sore but nothing serious."

She stopped what she was doing and rested her arm over his.

Clara let out a sigh of relief. She knew that John was still slightly cross, and she didn't mind. He deserves to be cross, but she hopes that he will eventually forgive her at some point. For now, they needed to focus on the baby and get Davros out of their lives for good.


	20. Chapter 20

"Two men exiting the building," a man dressed in a black hoodie muttered as he observed from across the street from Skaro, eyes trained at the entrance as he waited for his target to come out. He brought the burning cigarette to his lips, pretending to mind his own business.

"He's going to come out soon," Dave commented via the earpiece. "Move to the left a bit."

The man shifted to his left so that the camera hidden on one of the holes of the hoodie strings could get a clearer feed. "Positive ID on the target," he muttered as Davros' figure came into view.

While the picture wasn't of the highest quality, they could certainly make out that it was him.

"Pink, Radford," Dave called.

"Standing by, boss," Danny replied through the earpiece.

Dave waited for a few moments before he ordered his two men to follow the vehicle.

Danny followed the vehicle for about a half an hour before passing through the open gates of a building. The drive stopped on the side of the road, keeping some distance so as to avoid being detected by a security camera next to the gate.

"What's the name of the street?" Dave asked as he stared at his phone.

"Nation Street, sir."

That was the exact name written on the screen from the intel Henry provided. "Head back to the club."

\-- 

"No, that won't be necessary, Aunt Vastra," Clara said quietly as she glanced at her sleeping husband. "I'm safe where I am right now, so there's nothing for you to worry about."

"I could contact a former colleague of mine at MI5 and have him sent whatever intel we have on Davros."

She considered her aunt's offer. On one hand, the intel would speed up the search for Davros, but on the other, she wasn't so sure if John would appreciate meddling from MI5. "That's something I have to discuss with John first."

"I understand, do let me know if he wants to take up the offer."

Clara nodded. "Thank you, Aunt Vastra."

"Anything for my beloved niece."

She hung up just as her husband woke up. "Who was that?" he groaned, rolling to his side to shield his face away from the sunlight. He reached for his watch from the bedside table and squinted his eyes to read the time.

"You overslept."

"Fuck," he muttered, pulling the covers away before his wife stopped him and stood in front of him.

"I texted Dylan and told him you weren't coming to work today," she stated. "They all agreed, including Kate, that you should rest."

He blinked several times to shake off the drowsiness. "I have to go to work, Clara," he argued.

"You were involved in a shooting."

"This isn't the first time I've been shot at and it won't be the last."

It was thought that she didn't find pleasing at all, but she knew who she married. She sat next to him. "No, but you and I are staying here and… we'll finally have that talk that's long overdue – I'm sure you still have a lot of questions for me."

They talked until the very early hours of the morning the previous night. It was mostly her who came clean to him about everything from who her personal bodyguard was to the precautions her father had her taken prior to the wedding.

He sighed in defeat. "Ok," he agreed before a thought crossed his mind. "How are you this morning?" he inquired. "Have you had anything to eat?"

Clara nodded to the plate of leftovers from last night. "I finally had the appetite to eat the croissant."

"That's not enough."

She flashed him a smile. "Which is why we're going to have breakfast together."

"Do you always get what you want, Clara Smith?" he asked with a hint of a smile on his lips.

"Sometimes," she answered with a twinkle in her eyes.

He stared at her with tired eyes before climbing out of bed and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I'll ask Isaac to bring us some food."

\-- 

"Do you think he'll show up?" Aidan questioned as he looked away from the computer screen after spending two hours viewing the CCTV footage.

"I doubt it since I'm sure Clara wouldn't let him in the first place," Rena commented as she was perusing a file. There were several boxes on her desk, all of which were related to drug-related offences.

Dylan remained silent as he thought of the previous day's incident. It was scary how Clara could have been shot had she been in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was so close to being killed and it horrified him. There was nothing more he wanted to do than to kill Davros.

"I already have a plan prepared in case that prawn tries anything," Donna revealed.

"Nag him?" Aidan retorted.

Donna smirked. "Call his wife, duh."

At that very moment, Dylan's phone beeped, and he immediately checked his notifications. It was no other than his superior asking about any updates on the case. "Bloody hell."

"I knew it!" Donna exclaimed. "Oh, he's getting an earful, alright."

"Or you know, we could just ignore the text," Dylan suggested.

Donna rolled her eyes. "And do you honestly think that'll work?" she said sarcastically. "No, he's going to keep bothering you till he gets what he wants."

As if on cue, another message popped up. "Keep me posted," Dylan read.

She then grabbed her smartphone and began typing away.

"There."

"He's not going to be happy about this," Rena commented.

"He deserves it for refusing to take the day off," Donna explained. "He was shot at and all he can think about is work when his poor wife is traumatised."

By the time Donna's text reached Clara, she was busy changing the gauze on her husband's arm which had a red tint to it. "Are you sure you don't want me to call one of the sergeants to help because I'm no expert at this?"

He grimaced at the suggestion as he rolled up the sleeve of his t-shirt. "I'd rather you help – it's just wrapping it around my arm."

"Don't blame me if I get sick," she muttered jokingly as she carefully removed the gauze and setting it into a bag.

John raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you get sick at the sight of blood?"

"Oh, you never know what the pregnancy's doing to my hormones," she told him lightly and was relieved to see that the wound wasn't as bad as she remembered it to be. "Also, I think you're just using this as an excuse to receive some TLC."

John looked the other way and said nothing, having been caught red-handed by his wife. "I hate physical contact with most people."

"Yep, I know," she murmured. There was silence between them as she began to work.

"How much does your father know about Davros?"

She looked up before her gaze returned to his arm. "As much as you do," she replied. "Or at least that's what he told me before yesterday."

John said nothing as he observed her.

"Aunt Vastra offered to send MI5 intel."

John pursed his lips. The last thing he needs is another organization being involved in the mess. "I'd rather we look at other options first."

"Davros is a powerful man," Clara said as she finished her task. "Do you think there's enough evidence to bring him down?"

Her husband was silent for quite a while, thinking, pondering. "I don't know," he confessed. "There's just very little information on him that it's difficult to say."

Once she put the gauze away, Clara reached for her phone on the bed and had both eyebrows raised reading the message. "Someone snitched on you."

"Of course," John growled.

"Tell that prawn to stop thinking about work. Hell, give him hell if he so much as thinks about being here," Clara read out loud.

"Donna."

"Who else?"

"All I did was ask Dylan to keep me updated with any new leads," John defended. "That doesn't count as work."

She shrugged. "It does."

Just as he was about to argue, her phone rang. It was none other than her father.

The couple exchanged looks before John got to his feet. "I'm just going to check up on the two officers."

Clara answered the call just as her husband shut the door.

He started off by bombarding her with the usual questions – whether she was fine or not or if she didn't feel comfortable living in the safe house. Just her father being overprotective and paranoid.

"I'm glad to hear that," Dave sighed.

"I told John about you, my past," she told him. "Everything."

Dave paused for a brief moment. "Right, I suppose there's no point covering things up now."

"All he wants for now is to bring Davros in."

"I can help with that," her father revealed. "I managed to obtain intel on Davros."

To say that she was surprised that her father managed to get such a thing within a short amount of time is shocking.

"His real name is Michael Bleach – was arrested at the age of 17, some thirty-five years ago, for hacking into several banks but he wasn't charged since they managed to get to him before he could sell the data and of course, he had top lawyers to defend him."

"Where does the drug business come in then?"

"He went to Cambridge, graduated and worked with top firms before opening one of his own – specialises in robotics and cybersecurity, so I'm guessing it came from greed and boredom."

"Could you share this with John?"

Dave hesitated for a second. "I suppose I could send it anonymously."

"Thank you, dad," she murmured. "It will greatly help the investigation."

Another five minutes went by before the call ended and Clara stared at the smartphone in her hands before planting her feet on the ground and headed for the door.

She nearly stumbled into her husband who had just reached the top of the stairs.

His eyebrows were knitted together as he tried to assess her facial expression. "I'm not sure what to expect."

She pulled him into the room before shutting the door securely to prevent other people from overhearing them.

"Dad is going to give you everything he has on Davros," Clara told John.

"Right, how do I get it?"

"He said he'll send it to you anonymously, not entirely sure what he meant by that, but you should expect something tomorrow at work."

Her husband nodded in acknowledgement. "Did you tell him about your pregnancy?"

She shook her head. "No, I… I don't think it's the right time and besides, I'm pretty sure he's going to be even more worried and paranoid if he found out."

John wished that things could go back to normal, that they were back in their home and not having to worry about their lives being threatened. "I promise you I'll get him."

His wife wrapped her arms around him and hid her face in his chest. "I know you will."

He kissed the top of her head and held her protectively. Davros is going to receive hell.


	21. Chapter 21

When John came to work in the wee hours of the morning (the perk of having the safe house close to the workplace), he noticed a small white envelope sitting on his desk and knew that it was the package he was expecting from Dave.

Without much thought, he proceeded to tear the envelope which contained an SD card before switching on the computer and plugging the storage device in.

He was the only person in the office at the moment, so there was no need for him to be discreet. There were several files from the SD card which contained everything from Davros' name to his arrest back in 1985.

"Early start, boss?"

John looked up. It was Dylan who had just come into the office. He was sure that Dylan was the one who sent him the intel.

"Don't think I've ever seen you this early."

Dylan shrugged. "The team is working extra hard, so I thought that I might as well do the same."

The DCS set his eyes back on the bright screen and began reading more about Davros. He found it ironic that the man was on MI5's watch list and yet he managed to order a drive-by shooting.

Aside from that, there wasn't much he didn't know about from what Clara had told him. Even they had limited intel on him.

"You know," Donna's shrill voice tore him from his thoughts. "When we said take a few days off, we actually meant a few days as in two or three."

Bloody hell. He had completely forgotten about the ensuing nagging from Donna. "It wouldn't hurt to have an extra pair of hands."

"Yeah, go on, then, detective boy," Donna said. "Come up with feeble excuses!"

"Who angered Donna, I wonder," Aidan whispered to Rena sarcastically as both officers entered the room.

Rena shook her head before settling in her seat and waking up the PC. She left the computer running the previous night to allow it to finish its search on the database for the car they were looking for.

She checked the result and indeed, it was the car they that had been trying to identify.

"I got a match," she announced. A second later, the entire team was gathered around her. "Reported stolen last week."

John nodded. "Rena, take Aidan with you and talk to the owner," he instructed. "See if you can find out more about this."

As he was returning to his desk, he received another nagging from Donna. "Once your shift is over, I want you out of his building and back at home."

John rolled his eyes. He sometimes wondered if Donna was actually the commander and that she's just going undercover to see if people under her were doing her job. He grumbled in response before checking his phone for any messages from his wife.

If there was one thing that they had agreed upon, it was that she would text him every two hours to inform him that all was fine.

One thing that they had learned from her father is that Davros has people on the Met working for him too and it could be anybody, so they weren't taking any chances.

_'Come to the safe house now.'_

That was all it took for John to jump from his seat, grab his jacket and bolt out of the office.

"Oi!" Donna growled as the DCS nearly collided with her.

John ignored her and sprinted away.

"What the…," Aidan began.

Dylan had a feeling that something was wrong and decided to follow his boss.

\-- 

While Clara didn't mind being stuck in a safe house, for the time being, she was growing increasingly bored and tired of being stuck in the bedroom.

It was a good reason for her to go downstairs and acquaint herself with the very people protecting her and that was exactly what she did, though she was surprised to find only one officer.

"Mrs Smith," Isaac greeted. "Is everything ok?"

"Yep," she assured. "Just decided to explore a bit."

"Not much to explore I'm afraid," he chuckled.

The schoolteacher shrugged. "Better than being cooped up upstairs."

Isaac said nothing as he returned to his smartphone.

The realisation struck her at that moment. As far as she was aware, there were supposed to be two officers who were on duty. "I thought there were two of you?"

"Bradley went out to buy batteries for the TV remote."

Clara nodded in acknowledgement before entering the kitchen to make herself a drink. "Hot chocolate?" she offered, turning around. That was when she noticed something odd about the smartphone. From the angle he was holding it, she could clearly see the symbol etched on the case. Daleks.

She knew she had to remain calm and swallowed the lump in her throat. "How long have you been working as a police officer?" she inquired, setting the kettle on the stove.

"About six years, Mrs Smith."

She could feel her hand shaking and hid her hand behind her back. She was surprised to see him staring at her with a strange look.

"You look ill, Mrs Smith."

"Probably because I'm hungry," she replied, trying her best to not look down at the symbol. "Which reminds me, I think we should order something."

"I'm sure Bradley can do that when he gets here."

"I don't see what difference it makes," she told him before quickly unlocking her phone and pretending to scroll up and down when in actuality, she was typing a message to John.

"It's for your own safety, Mrs Smith," Isaac insisted, his tone sounded annoyed this time, lowering his hands which held the electronic device.

She stalled the conversation for another minute or two until her eyes followed the movement of the smartphone. Big mistake. She knew he caught her.

The kettle whistled and Clara grabbed it before tossing it at the man, hot water spilling all over him and he yelled and hissed in pain while she ran past him and up the staircase.

She managed to make it to the bedroom and slamming the door in Isaac's face and hearing a crack. Her aunt's training actually paid off.

"Fuck!"

She took several steps back while looking around the room for anything that can be used as a weapon.

The door banged repeatedly as he tried to break it and she knew she was running out of time. A gunshot was heard, startling her. He was probably shooting at the lock.

Clara grabbed the metal suitcase next to the wall and hid behind the door, waiting for the man to walk it.

The door swung open angrily and the moment she spotted him, she brought the suitcase down to him, hitting him on the back of the head and body repeatedly until Isaac was unconscious. She kicked him for good measure before running out of the bedroom and shutting the door.

"Clara!" John yelled from downstairs. "Clara!"

She waited for him to come to her. She could hear his every single step, which was as loud as her breathing.

"Clara," her husband murmured before embracing her tightly.

Dylan followed after a few seconds before making eye contact with her and checking on Isaac. The DCI opened the door and discovered that the man was unconscious. He wanted nothing more than to shoot him in the head.

Clara finally dropped the suitcase and hugged John, making sure that it was indeed him.

Dylan handcuffed the criminal before forcing him to stand, earning a pained groan. "I'll take him straight to Scotland Yard."

Sirens could be heard, and John suddenly had a feeling of déjà vu.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" he asked his wife quietly, both slowly sinking to the floor.

"Aunt Vastra taught me self-defence when I was fourteen."

He kissed her hair, thanking whoever was watching over his wife. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if things had taken a different turn.

"Can we go back to our home?" she asked. "This safe house is no safer than our own home and I doubt that the new one will be any different."

"I was thinking the same thing," the detective told her. The only difference is that there would be more police officers present, those who he trusts completely. "I can't guarantee it, but I'll try my best."

By the time Dylan returned to Scotland Yard, the entire had heard what had happened at the same house.

They silently watched as the DCI dragged Isaac into an interrogation room, face hard and eyes cold.

Aidan stood up to volunteer to interrogate the suspect, but he was stopped by Rena. "I'd let him release his pent-up anger first."

Dylan shoved Isaac into a chair before locking the door. "You fucking cunt."

Isaac breathed heavily, staring at the wall. "That the best you got?"

Dylan delivered a punch to his face. "I'm just getting started."

Fifteen minutes later, Isaac suffered a broken nose, a busted lip and a black eye, though he wasn't willing to talk just yet.

"What were you going to do to her?" he asked. "What did Davros tell you?"

Silence.

Dylan punched the man's stomach, earning a groan. "Start talking, Wilson – you've got nothing to lose after losing everything today."

Isaac lowered his head. "Spy on her."

"You were going to kill her."

The man shook his head. "Davros… said she and the baby would be a bargaining chip."

Dylan paused as the news shocked him. Clara or John never announced that they were expecting. "How do you know she's pregnant?"

"She was avoiding certain foods and drinks," Isaac explained, gasping for air. "Overheard them talking too."

He wondered if Dave knew about this. Probably unaware of it. Without another word, he marched out of the room, leaving the door wide open as he passed by Rena. "He's yours to deal with."

Dylan quickly made his way to the back of the building, making sure that he was secluded and that no one was around. He dialled a number and waited for the person on the other end to answer the call.

"This had better be good."

"Afraid not, boss," the DCI said to Dave. "One of the officers at the safehouse is a spy."

Dave was silent for a second before something being punched was heard. "What do you mean he's a spy?"

Dylan silently prayed for a before he began explaining the events that occurred just an hour ago. By the time he finished, he could tell that his boss is fuming. Well, fuming would be an understatement.

"I would advise you to calm down first, sir."

"To hell with that!" Dave roared. "What happens now?"

"I'm not sure, boss, since they're still at the same house."

"Go back then and ask them," the man instructed. "I want to know everything and once they've moved to a different safehouse, I want to place my men there."

It then occurred to Dylan that he has yet to inform Dave that Clara is pregnant. As much as he was obliged to share the news, he decided that it wasn't his place to do it. If they were hiding it, then he was sure they did it for good reason.

"Once that's done, I want you at the club so we can deal with Davros once and for all."

"Boss?"

"The meeting is at three."

Dave then hung up before the DCI could reason with him not to act irrationally.


	22. Chapter 22

"What are you doing here?" John inquired when he spotted Dylan walking into the safe house.

The DCI shrugged. "Just wanted to make sure that Clara's ok," he said quietly. He looked around and spotted several constables gathering evidence.

"What about Wilson?"

"I got what I wanted and left him to Rena and Aidan," Dylan stated before lowering his voice. "Davros was planning to kidnap Clara and use her to get the factions."

John tensed and curled his hands into fists.

"He also knows about the pregnancy."

At the mention of this, the DCS shot his colleague a look. "This is to between us only."

"Understood."

John hid his hands in the pocket of his trousers. "We're moving back to my house," he revealed. "I want Rena and Aidan at my home once they are done with Wilson."

Dylan raised an eyebrow, sceptical over the decision to return to their house. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, and I'll have constables guarding the area," John continued. The couple had considered using Vastra's home as a safehouse for Clara after she had offered, but they agreed to stick to their original plan since there would be a large police presence. "The only people who are allowed inside are the ones who I trust."

The DCI nodded. "The boss wants his people to be on guard duty too."

John pursed his lips.

"The boss isn't exactly happy that someone on the inside tried to harm Clara."

"Fine," he agreed.

Dylan smirked. "You don't get a say in this."

"Hardly a surprise."

After dropping off Clara and making sure that she would be fine for the next few hours, the DCS made his way back to Scotland Yard after receiving a phone call from his superior. From the tone of her voice, it sounded urgent.

"I know you want to be by your wife's side right now, but I've just received news from Pentonville," Kate explained calmly. "Brooks is dead."

He had been in the force for what, 25 years, so such news shouldn't surprise him at all, but it did. "How-"

"Got into a fight during lunchtime and was stabbed in the abdomen."

"Kate, we have to arrest him."

The commander shook her head. "Unless you have something that can pin him to any of the crimes he's committed then we can't do much and he knows this."

"You can't just expect to sit around and do nothing!" John argued, temper rising. "He tried to kidnap my wife and he tried to shoot her before that!"

Kate remained calm before pulling a drawer open and tossing a yellow file onto the desk. "Was he trying to harm DCS Smith's wife or Dave Oswald's daughter?"

"Davros?"

"Dropped it off on my desk this morning."

John wondered what it meant now. How will this affect Clara? Was his job on the line? Is he off the case?

"I'm willing to put a blind eye on this if you can bring Davros in," Kate told him. "I don't care much whether you're associated with organised crime or not and I doubt you are," she continued. "I think we can all agree that we want this nightmare to be over."

Fair enough. It was certainly better than having his wife being more involved in this mess. John stood up.

"The home secretary is breathing down my neck, so I expect some development to be made in 48 hours."

It was an impossible task, but John fought the urge to give a snarky comment, preferring to keep the peace. Kate was kind enough to look past this and he should be grateful. "I'll see what I can do."

\-- 

"I don't quite know what Dave's up to, but he just doesn't seem to be himself as of late, especially after this," Dylan said to Clara as they sat in the kitchen.

"Even I can't take a guess," she confessed. "But I spoke to him and he kept assuring me that Davros won't be bothering us ever again."

The DCI had a gut feeling. One that he didn't like at all. "You don't think-"

Clara shook her head. "No, he's not the type to kill people, no matter how much he hates them."

"But this is different."

To be completely honest, even she wasn't entirely sure of her father now. "It's understandable that he's worried," she began.

"Right," Dylan sighed before changing the topic of their conversation. "I know this is going to sound a bit extreme with three police cars out there, but Pink and a few men are in the house at the back."

The schoolteacher raised her eyebrows. "How did you manage to vacate the house?" she asked. "I think a group of students live there."

He shrugged. "Told them we needed the house to shoot a film and made sure the landlord kept his mouth shut," he explained. "They stopped complaining after we helped them move to a nice flat."

"Yeah, this is definitely not overkilling it," she said sarcastically as she was handed a dumbphone.

"You know how to contact us if you need help."

She shut her eyes and shook her head. "I feel like I'm under house arrest," she sighed. She wasn't complaining over her current predicament but between the shooting and nearly getting kidnapped, Clara just wanted to disappear with John and leave behind their troubles.

The DCI got to his feet and went to the sink to wash the mug he held. "I know the situation isn't exactly ideal, but we're working as fast as we can to put an end to this."

"I know and I appreciate it."

Dylan checked the time. Rena and Aidan would be here any minute now since his shift was almost over.

\-- 

"Just make yourself at home," Clara said to both Rena and Aidan who were seated in the living room, laptops open on the coffee table. "Plenty of snacks in the fridge and cupboard since John has a sweet tooth and the bathroom is down the hall to your left."

The two police officers were still getting used to the idea that they were working from their boss' home and nodded awkwardly. "Thank you, Clara."

"If you need me, I'll be upstairs," the schoolteacher told them as she disappeared up the staircase.

Once she was sure she was alone, Clara unlocked her phone and checked her messages. There was a text from her father.

_'Is John home yet? I need to speak to him.'_

Clara decided to wait for John to return home before contacting her father and the moment he did, she immediately took him to their room. "Dad wants to speak to you."

Her husband arched a brow. "Did he mention why?"

She shook her head before handing him the mobile device. "He sent me a text and that was it, but I have a feeling it's urgent."

John loosened the top button of his shirt before pressing call on the screen. A few seconds later, his father-in-law answered.

Clara couldn't quite tell what both men were talking about on the phone. She knew it was about Davros since his name was mentioned. Her father did most of the talking and John was just listening most of the time, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Once the call was over, she got straight to making her husband tell her everything. "He says that Davros will be receiving a lorry of cocaine tomorrow night," he told her.

Her eyes darted all over his face, waiting for him to continue.

"He wants to ambush him."

"Can't you jump in and arrest Davros before that happens?"

"That's what I thought too until he said that he needs to settle a personal matter with Davros before I can show up."

Clara bit her lower lip. "I have a bad feeling about this," she murmured. "Dylan said that he's been behaving strangely."

"He doesn't know you're pregnant, right?"

"No, no," the schoolteacher confirmed. There was a pregnant pause. "Though, I suppose it's always possible he could have found out another way."

The DCS massaged his temple and ran a hand over his hair. "I bet Dylan knows where the meeting will take place."

"I'm sure I can convince him to give me the details," she said before a thought struck her. "What happens if you manage to stop him?"

John sat down on the edge of the mattress as he was sure his legs were about to give up on him at any moment. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Will I arrest them?"

His wife nodded.

"Yes," he answered. "I will have to arrest them by law."

She was about to bombard him more questions when he continued.

"Being charged is an entirely different matter and if your Dave plays his cards right and has a good lawyer, he won't be."

Clara stared at her folded hands. If she was sure of one thing, it's that John would have to play by her father's rule if he wants to put this matter to rest and that meant he would have to come alone, something she doesn't agree with at all.

While her task sounded easy, the actual process of obtaining said information wasn't. Dylan was adamant not to reveal anything when he dropped by for his shift that morning.

"Clara, I'm under strict order not to say anything relating to the plan and besides, I won't be there."

"I have a right to know what he's up to," she pointed out. "This concerns me as much as it does to him."

The DCI pursed his lips. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

"He's going to do something stupid and you know it."

He avoided her gaze and brought the cup of coffee to his lips.

"John wants to help-"

"He will once Davros is dealt with."

Clara crossed her arms. "Are you seriously going to let him walk into the lion's den?"

Dylan shook his head. Bloody English teacher. "Don't be dramatic, Clara, and Davros doesn't know he's going to show up."

"Even so, do you honestly think he doesn't have men of his own?" she continued. "What if it ends badly for both sides?"

He stared at the floor.

"Dad doesn't always think clearly when he's paranoid."

Both knew she was getting closer to him revealing the plan.

"Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have you as the boss," Dylan chuckled. "You've got the potential to be one."

Clara leaned back against the chair. "As good as I am at bossing people around, I'd rather stick to working as an English teacher."

The DCI sighed in defeat. "Warehouse in Gravesend," he revealed. "That's where the meeting is going to take place – at nine."

"Do you know exactly where it is?"

He nodded. "You'll take John to the meeting."

"This is insane," the detective muttered. "What's he going to do when he gets there?"

Clara wasn't sure either, but she hopes her husband has a plan and it was a good enough reason for her to follow them as well, not that she'll tell them. For now.


	23. Chapter 23

**6 Hours before the meeting**

"Are you out of your mind?!" John growled in frustration, shutting his tired eyes momentarily after his wife had told him she was coming along to the meeting. "I can't let you go."

"You don't know how many men Davros will have with him and it's just you and Dylan there."

"Which is why you're staying here!" her husband said sternly. "You're pregnant and there is no way in hell I am letting you get anywhere near that warehouse."

Clara was sick and tired of everyone in her life treating her as if she was made of glass. She volunteered to go so that she could call for help in case things didn't go as planned. "I'll stay in the car."

"No."

"What if I bring Danny and the rest?"

John paused for a moment before he shook his head. "No," he repeated. "Clara, if anything happens to you, I won't forgive myself and I don't think I can live with the thought of you being caught in the crossfire."

"And I can't forgive myself if something happens to you!"

He exhaled through his nose. "Clara, this is dangerous."

"Which is why I insist on going with you."

The couple glared at each other. Neither wanting to admit defeat until Clara's gaze softened.

"I'll stay in the car with my bodyguards, I promise."

His shoulders sank and he knew he was defeated. There was only one thing left to do and that was to look for a safe place for her to stay put while he dealt with Davros and her father. "We'll leave in three hours."

Clara nodded. She had to make a phone call to Danny and inform him and the rest of the plan.

"But under no circumstance do you go anywhere near the warehouse."

"For as long as you don't put yourself in harm's way."

John raised his eyebrows. "There's no guarantee of that."

"Promise me you won't do anything stupid or reckless."

The DCS nodded.

\-- 

When Dylan received word from his boss that Clara was coming along, he opposed the idea entirely but backed down after being reassured that she was going to be nowhere near the area.

"You still have time to change your mind," he coaxed, checking his Kevlar vest. He would have to put it on after leaving the house since the constables would surely start asking questions.

"I'm sticking to the plan we all agreed," Clara insisted. "And don't think for one moment that I'm just going to sit here and hope to God that nothing happens to John or you or my father."

Dylan shook his head. Stubborn woman.

John kept his silence as he knew there was no point in arguing with his wife.

"I'll be following from behind and don't forget to check your microphones," Clara reminded both men.

The DCI turned to his superior. "I forgot how bossy she can be."

"And you should be grateful since this bossy woman helped you prepare for the meeting," she said cheekily.

"Is Danny ready?"

She checked her phone. He was waiting for an order from her. She nodded.

"Right, just to go over the plan," John said. "We drive halfway through and then you'll switch cars at Barking," he reminded his wife. "Dylan and I will then head to the warehouse and scout the area."

Clara and her bodyguards were to wait at a B&B just two miles away and if anything went south, she needed to contact Rena.

"Are we clear?" the DCS asked, looking to Dylan before setting his gaze on his wife.

"Crystal," the DCI grunted.

"Would you mind leaving us for a moment?" Clara requested.

Dylan nodded and left the living room.

"Are you having second thoughts?" John whispered, feeling a bit hopeful.

"No," she told him. "I just wanted to say I love you."

He locked eyes with her before he cupped both cheeks with his hands ever so gently and bent down to capture her lips. Everything he wanted to say, it was all in that kiss.

"I should also remind you that we need to book an appointment with an obstetrician."

His lips curved into a soft smile. "Whenever is good for me after tonight."

Her face then became serious. "Come on, detective."

John silently watched as his wife picked up her coat and slipped it on. He was going to secure their future tonight. No more of this nightmare.

\-- 

"This looks like it," Dylan commented as he entered the empty compound before moving to the back of the warehouse and looking for a spot to hide the car.

They had set off about an hour ago and as expected, no one had arrived yet.

The area was dimly lit with only a few of the lights from the building working. It would provide good cover for them during the meeting.

"Park behind that tree there," John instructed. As much as he was ready to arrest Davros, he wasn't entirely sure whether he should be armed or not. He hadn't carried a gun since he never needed one before and the thought of wielding such a weapon that could kill a person easily slightly terrified him.

"The warehouse is just one floor, so I'm thinking we could just camp out here and place a bug or two inside."

John nodded. "Sounds good," he said before a thought crossed his mind. "See if you can install a camera somewhere so we can get a feed of the meeting," he instructed, opening a black laptop to set up shop.

While Dylan stepped out to perform his tasks, John picked up the walkie talkie next to him. "We've made it to the warehouse."

"I don't see any of dad's cars or Davros yet," his wife replied, who was scouting the road from inside her vehicle.

"We got here early."

He spoke too soon, however, as Clara spotted a lorry escorted by two grey SUVs with one at the front and the other at the back. "I think I spotted the supplier."

John then spoke to Dylan via the earpiece. "You better hurry up because the supplier is here."

"Just setting up the camera, boss."

Just then, the black screen came to life with a greyscale view of the inside of the warehouse.

"How's the audio?" Dylan was heard asking through the speakers of the laptop.

"Fine, now get back here."

\-- 

"The students have been asking where you were," Danny spoke to Clara, his eyes trained on the road with hands on the steering wheel.

"What did you say?"

"You had chickenpox."

Clara chuckled, serious demeanour faltering. "And they believed you?"

Danny grinned. "Seems like it since they stopped asking further questions, but they wished you a speedy recovery."

"They are learning, right?"

"I've heard Anna complain about Courtney's homework twice now, so that is likely a yes."

The schoolteacher shook her head.

Just then, the iPad in her hands came to life. It projected several views of the warehouse.

"Are you able to see the inside of the building?" her husband's voice crackled through the walkie talkie.

"Yep, pretty creepy if you ask me."

There was a pregnant pause. "It's an abandoned warehouse, Clara," John stated. "Left to rot for more than ten years."

Her lips curved into a smile as Danny watched her from the rear-view mirror. "Never doubted you, detective."

She set down the walkie talkie and continued to observe the video feed carefully. Not much activity aside from a few men unloading parcels from the lorry.

She was slightly startled when the passenger door opened and one of her bodyguards, Wayne, got in after returning from his cigarette break.

"You should probably wait outside until the smell wears off," Danny commented, scrunching his nose in disgust.

"Come on, mate," Wayne sighed. "It's bloody freezing out there."

Just as Danny was about to argue that their boss' daughter was sitting in the back seat, Clara spotted several black SUVs speeding past them. "That must be Davros," she said before picking up the walkie talkie to warn her husband.

"They're a bit early, aren't they?" John commented as he checked the time on the dashboard clock. Twenty minutes early.

"We've been observing for some time and he's always punctual," Danny explained as they watched the cars enter the compound.

"Any updates from Dave?" the DCS inquired.

Danny checked his phone for any unread messages. "No, he's been quiet since we left."

As much as he wanted to do nothing more than to arrest Davros at this very moment, he knew he didn't have enough manpower to do so.

A man in a white suit stood in front of the lorry, hands in his pockets as he patiently waited for his buyer to step out of the Range Rover, eager to get his money.

The driver stepped out and went to the other side of the car before pulling open the back door.

Davros stepped out, eyes full of glee while eyeing the goods.

"Davros."

"Mr Hennessy."

Hennessy then nodded to his men before one brought to him a brown box. He produced a knife and cut the side open as small amounts of white powder flowed out. "Just like you ordered."

Davros silently watched for a few seconds before making eye contact. He gestured a buffy man who had carried a silver suitcase. "2 million pounds as agreed," he commented while Hennessy opened the suitcase and checked its contents. "The rest will be deposited into your bank account."

Once he was satisfied, a flashed a grin. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Start loading them into the cars!" Davros ordered. He found it strange that the man was already entering their vehicles. "Leaving so soon?" he remarked before a thought crossed his mind and the smile on his face turned into a frown just as Hennessy and his men rushed in.

The roaring of engines could be heard in the background, the sound getting louder and louder before tires screeched and gunshots were heard coming from outside. A vehicle crashed through the loading bay gate and chaos ensued.

Davros immediately took cover behind several crates. He was set up.

Outside, John and Dylan witnessed the shootings from the safety of their car. They couldn't interrupt just yet. "Jesus Christ, this was his plan?"

"I guess he really meant it when he said he was going to corner him," Dylan replied as he was just as baffled. "Wait, where's Davros?"

John began swiping through each feed, attempting to spot Davros. "Fuck, I think we lost him."

Both men exited the vehicle and immediately headed for the warehouse. A thought then struck Dylan. John was heading in there without a pistol.

"You need one," Dylan said as he handed his superior a spare gun after reaching the back entrance. "Look, I know you don't like carrying or using one but believe me when I say that this is for your safety."

John stared at the weapon, contemplating before making a decision by taking the pistol.

"Follow my lead, boss," Dylan instructed.

"Wait," John said as his eyes spotted a figure who was limping some distance away.

Dylan glanced at the direction of the DCS's line of sight.

The figure then tripped and fell.

"That's him," John said before chasing after the man.

\-- 

Dave Oswald spotted Davros in his line of sight. He was crouched behind a metal desk. Both men made eye contact. Dave could see the fear in his eyes.

As his men pushed forward, slowly cornering their enemies, Dave raised the pistol he held with his right hand and aimed at Davros. He had a clean shot and pulled the trigger, but the bullet missed as Davros sprinted to the back of the lorry.

He took cover just in time as Davros pulled out a gun of his own and fired at him. He retaliated, firing blindly before taking a peek behind the car door.

Davros was gone but there was a trail of blood leading to one of the many shattered windows. Dave turned around and sprinted out of the building. He scanned the road and the surrounding area. A bullet flew past him and he took cover next to the old steel gate.

Several more gunshots were heard but it wasn't directed at him.

"We have you surrounded!"

John Smith.

Dave leaned against the pillar and glanced at the open field. He could make out two shapes hiding behind a tree. Perhaps he could seize the chance to flank Davros and so, he slowly moved from his cover before a bullet hit the pillar and he took a step back and returned fire.

The man inhaled loudly, trying to get his breathing in order.

John and Dylan, on the other hand, remained in their spot, unsure of how they could approach Davros without being shot at.

"Any bright ideas, boss?"

"Working on it," John grumbled, looking around. "Shoot the branch?"

Dylan raised both eyebrows before going with the suggestion. It was better than them doing nothing. He aimed at a branch and pulled the trigger before watching it fall to the ground with a thud.

John wasn't expecting anything out of it, but when he saw Davros limping across the field, he bolted after him.

Both Dylan and Dave had a clear line of sight of the man, ready to shoot him but lowered their guns when a black vehicle hit Davros as he was crossing the road, not being completely aware of his surroundings, sending him rolling two feet away.

"What the…"

Clara stepped out of the vehicle, glaring the criminal she just hit. He lay on the pavement, groaning pain. "That's for shooting my husband," she said quietly.

Dylan and the other bodyguard exited the vehicle hastily, wondering why the hell they allowed her to drive in the first place. They knew they had a lot of explanation to do.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Dylan muttered, not believing what he had just witnessed.

John handed back the gun he never fired back to Dylan before rushing over to his wife. "Are you ok?"

"Never better," she assured him, placing a hand on his arm before he wrapped his arms around her and hid his face in her shoulder.

Dave silently observed the couple. Is this it? Was it finally over? 

The man on the ground chuckled through his bloodied teeth. "The daughter, the son and the son-in-law," he muttered. "The whole family's here."

Dave shot daggers at him, eyeing him carefully.

"You think you'll get to sit high up in that ivory tower of yours?" Davros continued. "You'll be investigated and put under a magnifying glass before the trial even starts."

"What makes you think I'm not prepared?" Dave said quietly, almost to the point of defeat.

Davros knew it was over for him. He lost everything. There was nothing to lose now. He rested his head on the hard pavement, looking up at the dark skies.

"Dad," Clara whispered before embracing her father.

Davros' hand slipped into the pocket of his jacket while everyone was momentarily distracted and produced a small pistol. He growled as he forced himself up, fighting against the pain and aimed the gun at Clara. Might as well take something precious of his enemy's.

A shot rang out.

But Davros never got the chance to pull the trigger as a bullet was lodged between his eyes.

Dylan lowered the smoking gun slowly, eyes cold and hard.

The DCI glanced at Clara, then John and finally, Dave. He didn't even realise that the pistol was taken from him until John placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

\-- 

John and Clara quietly entered the home they share, both too emotionally and physically exhausted to speak or reflect over what happened just a few hours ago. It was around three in the morning. Before the police arrived at the scene, they had discussed the sort of statement they would have to give. Each one had to corroborate the other and explain why Clara was even there in the first place.

It would be one where she had secretly followed her husband, worried over his behaviour only to discover that her father is a drug lord. It wouldn't have been believable had Clara not lived with her aunt, but the constables didn't press further than necessary, so they took it as a good sign.

They stared at each other before John wrapped an arm around her and guided them upstairs to the bedroom.

No words were spoken when the door shut.

No words were spoken when they entered the bathroom, lips on one another.

No words were spoken when she unbuttoned his shirt while he took off her jumper.

No words were needed to convey what they were feeling.

As the couple basked in the afterglow, facing each other in bed, Clara spoke. "Are you going to be in trouble?" she murmured, closing her eyes as John traced her spine with his finger.

"I don't know," he replied. "Though I trust Kate to keep her word, so I doubt I'll lose my job."

He could tell something else was on her mind.

"As for your father, I honestly do not know what will happen to him," he sighed. He had discovered that everything about the meeting had been a set-up by the Four Dragons so that meant that Dave will be charged based on what little evidence Scotland Yard has on him.

"Thank you," she murmured.

"For what?" he asked. "I wasn't the one who hit Davros with a car or saved you from being shot."

She shrugged. "For trying to, for staying by my side."

He flashed her a tired smile. "Thank you for exactly the same."

They could feel a sort of weight being lifted. A burden that was finally rid of. Everything just seemed and felt right at that moment.


	24. Chapter 24

**8 Months Later**

John Smith had been anticipating this very day. He had been excited and anxious at the same time, though mostly excited. He glanced at the woman in bed who had sweat dripping down her forehead, teeth clenched as a wave of pain hit her.

He stroked the back of her hand gently despite her having a death grip on his. How long was it since it started? Five hours ago? It felt like a lifetime.

John felt nothing but pride and love for the woman who was currently in labour. Soon, he was going to meet their son.

"You're doing great, Clara," the doctor encouraged. "Just breathe in and then push as you breathe out."

She screamed in pain, doing as the doctor instructed.

John brought her hand to his lips. He considered giving her words of encouragement, but decided against it, not wanting to worsen the situation.

"How are you holding up, detective?"

"As fine as one can get while his wife is giving birth," he answered before wincing as Clara screamed once more.

"Right, right," the doctor said. "I think I'm beginning to see the head, thank the Lord."

"This is bloody painful," Clara hissed squeezing her husband's hand.

John tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "You're doing great."

"Having a blast is the sentence you're looking for," she said sarcastically. She just wanted to get this over with. As much as she enjoyed being pregnant, being in labour for five hours isn't exactly the in the top of her list.

"Bit more bit more."

A few minutes later, the sound of a wailing baby filled the room.

Clara never felt so relieved in her life. She couldn't quite remember what happened next. There was a multitude of kisses from John. He even had a stupid grin on his face and the next thing she knew, her baby was handed to her.

"He's beautiful," John murmured as he closely examined their child.

Clara could only smile at her new-born son. She was beyond exhausted. "Hello, there," she whispered, stroking his soft cheek.

\-- 

Dave Oswald fiddled with his hands before checking his watch for the time. He was stood up before sitting back down on the bench. The door to his daughter's suite was still closed. He had been informed by John that Clara had given birth just forty minutes ago and rushed to the hospital and discovered that he wouldn't be allowed in just yet. The doctor and nurses needed to be sure that both mother and child are in good health.

Now, here he is, a grandfather waiting to meet his grandson.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the door slowly open and out came a doctor and two nurses.

Dave immediately got to his feet.

"Are you a family member?"

"I'm Clara's father," Dave introduced himself and shook hands with the doctor.

"Well, congratulation, Clara's father and the baby's grandad," the doctor said with a smile.

"May I go in?"

The doctor then stepped aside. "Oh, yes, of course," he replied. "Just keep in mind that Mrs Smith just went through labour so she might be a bit on the tired and drowsy side."

When Dave entered the ward, he was greeted by the sight of John sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at his son who was in Clara's arms, sleeping peacefully.

She looked up and flashed him a kind smile. "Would you like to say hello to grandad?" she quietly asked the baby.

Dave slowly approached his daughter's side, afraid of startling the baby. When his grandson was handed to him, his heart immediately melted. He knew that he would do anything for the little one.

Clara leaned into John as she silently watched her father bond with the new-born. She felt an arm wrap around her shoulder.

"Have you decided on a name?"

The couple exchanged looks before John spoke. "Malcolm Dougan Smith."

Dave beamed. "Hello, Malcolm," he greeted as the baby stared at his grandad with wide brown eyes.

If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that he never wanted to leave the hospital that night. The day that followed would be full of goodbyes.

The previous eight months had been tough on everyone as Dave was on trial, though not for drug-related offences. No. He used his connections and made a deal. Instead, he was being charged with money laundering. Thanks to his friends, he was sentenced to four years of house arrest, which takes place the day after his grandson's birth as he didn't want to miss it. For the next few years, he would be confined to his estate in Blackpool. True, it hardly seemed fair that he got off lightly but he was content at his daughter and grandson's well-being.

"I'm going to miss him," Dave sighed as he handed Malcolm back to his mother.

"Are you allowed to have visitors?" she asked, as that was a matter the court was still deciding the since last time she contacted her father.

"Yes," he confirmed. "Though, only one at a time."

"I'm sure we can work our way around it with video chat or something," John assured his wife.

"See, he's got it figured out," Dave added. The last thing he wanted to do was put his daughter under stress after she had given birth. "Besides, those four years will fly past us before you can even blink!"

He stayed at the hospital for another hour, chatting with the couple and fawning over his new-born grandson.

Just before Dave left, Clara gave her father a warm hug as they said their goodbyes. He knew she would eventually be occupied with her family to worry about him constantly.

"John," the older man said as they shook hands as John angled his body slightly to allow him to hold Malcolm in his arms securely.

Once her father left, Clara let out a tired sighed as she leaned back against the hospital bed.

"You should sleep," her husband commented. "I can keep Malcolm company until the nurse comes."

She reached for his hand, flashing him a contended smile. "Just going to admire the view for a few more minutes," she murmured as she gazed at her husband and child.

Clara scooted over to make room for him and patted the empty spot. "Come on."

He happily obliged before handing Malcolm back to her.

John leaned forward and kissed her. No words of love needed to be exchanged. Everything he wanted to say and felt was in the kiss and she could feel it.

"Get some shut-eye, Clara Smith."

"If you say so, detective," she murmured, the sight of her husband caressing Malcolm's cheek lulling her to sleep.

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this story! I hope you had a fun time reading it :) 
> 
> I have a new fic planned which takes place in the Victorian era (yes, another one), so if you're interested in that stay tuned. I'll be posting a preview and updates on my Tumblr.


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